Multi-level metabolic engineering of Pseudomonas mutabilis ATCC31014 for efficient production of biotin

Biotin (Vitamin H or B₇) is one of the most important cofactors involved in central metabolism of pro- and eukaryotic cells. Currently, chemical synthesis is the only route for commercial production. This study reports efficient microbial production of biotin in Pseudomonas mutabilis via multi-level metabolic engineering strategies: Level 1, overexpressing rate-limiting enzyme encoding genes involved in biotin synthesis (i.e. promoter and ribosome binding site engineering); Level 2, deregulating biotin biosynthesis (i.e. deletion of the negative regulator and the biotin importer genes); Level 3, enhancing the supply of co-factors (i.e. S-adenosyl-L-methionine and [Fe-S] cluster) for biotin biosynthesis; Level 4, increasing the availability of the precursor pimelate thioester (i.e. introduction of the BioW-BioI pathway from Bacillus subtilis). The combination of these interventions resulted in the establishment of a biotin overproducing strain, with the secretion of biotin increased for more than 460-fold. In combination with bioprocess engineering efforts, biotin was produced at a final titer of 87.17 mg/L in a shake flask and 271.88 mg/L in a fed-batch fermenter with glycerol as the carbon source. This is the highest biotin titer ever reported so far using rationally engineered microbial cell factories.