This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Yan, Y.
Right arrow Articles by Koffas, M. A. G.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Yan, Y.
Right arrow Articles by Koffas, M. A. G.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Yan, Y.
Right arrow Articles by Koffas, M. A. G.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, July 2005, p. 3617-3623, Vol. 71, No. 7
0099-2240/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.71.7.3617-3623.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Metabolic Engineering of Anthocyanin Biosynthesis in Escherichia coli

Yajun Yan,1 Joseph Chemler,1 Lixuan Huang,2 Stefan Martens,3 and Mattheos A. G. Koffas1*

Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, New York 14260,1 DuPont Central Research and Development, Experimental Station, Wilmington, Delaware 19880,2 Institut für Pharmazeutische Biologie, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Deutschhausstrasse 17A, D-35037 Marburg, Germany3

Received 12 October 2004/ Accepted 25 January 2005

Anthocyanins are red, purple, or blue plant pigments that belong to the family of polyphenolic compounds collectively called flavonoids. Their demonstrated antioxidant properties and economic importance to the dye, fruit, and cut-flower industries have driven intensive research into their metabolic biosynthetic pathways. In order to produce stable, glycosylated anthocyanins from colorless flavanones such as naringenin and eriodictyol, a four-step metabolic pathway was constructed that contained plant genes from heterologous origins: flavanone 3ß-hydroxylase from Malus domestica, dihydroflavonol 4-reductase from Anthurium andraeanum, anthocyanidin synthase (ANS) also from M. domestica, and UDP-glucose:flavonoid 3-O-glucosyltransferase from Petunia hybrida. Using two rounds of PCR, each one of the four genes was first placed under the control of the trc promoter and its own bacterial ribosome-binding site and then cloned sequentially into vector pK184. Escherichia coli cells containing the recombinant plant pathway were able to take up either naringenin or eriodictyol and convert it to the corresponding glycosylated anthocyanin, pelargonidin 3-O-glucoside or cyanidin 3-O-glucoside. The produced anthocyanins were present at low concentrations, while most of the metabolites detected corresponded to their dihydroflavonol precursors, as well as the corresponding flavonols. The presence of side product flavonols is at least partly due to an alternate reaction catalyzed by ANS. This is the first time plant-specific anthocyanins have been produced from a microorganism and opens up the possibility of further production improvement by protein and pathway engineering.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, SUNY Buffalo, 904 Furnas Hall, Buffalo, NY 14260. Phone: (716) 645-2911. Fax: (716) 645-3822. E-mail: mkoffas{at}buffalo.edu.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, July 2005, p. 3617-3623, Vol. 71, No. 7
0099-2240/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.71.7.3617-3623.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Katsuyama, Y., Matsuzawa, M., Funa, N., Horinouchi, S. (2008). Production of curcuminoids by Escherichia coli carrying an artificial biosynthesis pathway. Microbiology 154: 2620-2628 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Nakajima, J.-i., Sato, Y., Hoshino, T., Yamazaki, M., Saito, K. (2006). Mechanistic Study on the Oxidation of Anthocyanidin Synthase by Quantum Mechanical Calculation. J. Biol. Chem. 281: 21387-21398 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Leonard, E., Yan, Y., Lim, K. H., Koffas, M. A. G. (2005). Investigation of Two Distinct Flavone Synthases for Plant-Specific Flavone Biosynthesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 71: 8241-8248 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Yan, Y., Kohli, A., Koffas, M. A. G. (2005). Biosynthesis of Natural Flavanones in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 71: 5610-5613 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»