High-yield production of important cofactor
Researchers have optimized the expression of coenzyme F420
Enzymes catalyze chemical reactions in all living organisms. However, they often do not do this alone, but require so-called coenzymes - organic molecules that commonly accept or donate electrons or provide energy for a chemical reaction. Particularly relevant are NAD(P)H and FADH2, for example, which play an essential role in energy production through respiration.
The lesser-known coenzyme F420 supports a variety of redox reactions in bacteria and archaea, including the synthesis of various substances of medical interest such as antibiotics. Researchers are therefore interested to study the molecule in more detail, but larger quantities are needed.
The Synthetic Microbiology Group has now succeeded in producing corresponding quantities in the bacterium Escherichia coli, as the researchers explain in the journal Metabolic Engineering. "The resulting effective and simplified production process will facilitate basic research on F420-dependent bioprocesses as well as future applications of F420-dependent enzymes in biocatalysis," the authors conclude.
Original publication
Last D, Hasan M, Rothenburger L, Braga D, Lackner G (2022). High-yield production of coenzyme F420 in Escherichia coli by fluorescence-based screening of multi-dimensional gene expression space. Metabolic Engineering, doi: 10.1016/j.ymben.2022.07.006