Engineering Terpene Production Pathways in Methylobacterium extorquens AM1

Area of Science:

• Microbial Biotechnology
• Synthetic Biology
• Metabolic Engineering

Background:

• Terpenes are valuable plant compounds with diverse industrial applications, but their chemical synthesis is complex and costly.
• Microbial hosts like methylotrophs offer a sustainable alternative for terpene production using renewable feedstocks.
• Methylotrophs utilize one-carbon compounds and can be influenced by lanthanides, presenting an opportunity for metabolic manipulation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To engineer methylotrophic bacteria for enhanced terpene production.
• To investigate the role of lanthanides in boosting terpene biosynthesis in methylotrophs.
• To explore the potential of plant-associated methylotrophs for sustainable small molecule production.

Main Methods:

• Engineered wildtype Methylobacterium extorquens, a carotenoid-deficient mutant (∆Meta1_3665), and E. coli with an exogenous terpene pathway.
• Cultured strains in the presence and absence of lanthanides.
• Utilized native inducible and constitutive promoters to regulate terpene production.

Main Results:

• Engineered M. extorquens with a native inducible promoter produced the sesquiterpene patchoulol when supplemented with lanthanide.
• A moderate-strength constitutive promoter did not yield patchoulol production.
• Demonstrated successful colonization of the phyllosphere by engineered strains.

Conclusions:

• Lanthanide supplementation enhances terpene production in engineered methylotrophs.
• Native inducible promoters are effective for terpene biosynthesis in M. extorquens.
• Engineering plant microbiome species offers a promising avenue for sustainable small molecule synthesis.