Rapid production of l-DOPA by Vibrio natriegens, an emerging next-generation whole-cell catalysis chassis

3, 4-Dihydroxyphenyl-l-alanine (l-DOPA) is a compound of high medical value and is considered effective as a treatment for Parkinson's disease. Currently, bioproduction of l-DOPA is mainly carried out by whole-cell catalysis mediated by recombinant Escherichia coli carrying heterogeneous tyrosine phenol lyase. Vibrio natriegens is increasingly attracting attention owing to its superiority, including extremely rapid growth and high soluble protein expression capacity. In this study, we attempt to develop an efficient whole-cell catalyst for l-DOPA production using V. natriegens as the chassis. The maximum soluble protein expression by V. natriegens was accomplished in 4 h at 37°C, which was equivalent to that achieved by E. coli in 16 h at 16°C. Furthermore, the maximum productivity reached over 10.0 g l^-1  h^-1 in the early stage of biocatalysis, nearly two-fold higher than previously reported. Approximately 54.0 g l^-1 l-DOPA was obtained with a catechol conversion rate greater than 95%. In conclusion, V. natriegens displays advantages, including rapid protein expression and catalytic rate in the catalysis process for l-DOPA production. These findings strongly suggest that V. natriegens has remarkable potential as a whole-cell catalysis chassis for the production of valuable chemicals.