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Updated: May 10, 2026

A Customizable Approach for the Enzymatic Production and Purification of Diterpenoid Natural Products
Published on: October 4, 2019
Metabolic engineering of Escherichia coli for limonene and perillyl alcohol production
Jorge Alonso-Gutierrez1, Rossana Chan, Tanveer S Batth
1Joint Bioenergy Institute, 5885 Hollis Street, Emeryville, CA 94608, USA; Physical Biosciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
Abstract:
Limonene is a valuable monoterpene used in the production of several commodity chemicals and medicinal compounds. Among them, perillyl alcohol (POH) is a promising anti-cancer agent that can be produced by hydroxylation of limonene. We engineered E. coli with a heterologous mevalonate pathway and limonene synthase for production of limonene followed by coupling with a cytochrome P450, which specifically hydroxylates limonene to produce POH. A strain containing all mevalonate pathway genes in a single plasmid produced limonene at titers over 400mg/L from glucose, substantially higher than has been achieved in the past. Incorporation of a cytochrome P450 to hydroxylate limonene yielded approximately 100mg/L of POH. Further metabolic engineering of the pathway and in situ product recovery using anion exchange resins would make this engineered E. coli a potential production platform for any valuable limonene derivative.
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