Adaptive laboratory evolution of P. taiwanensis GRC3 towards increased styrene tolerance

Microbial production of the polymer building block styrene from renewable feedstocks is a promising alternative to the current production from fossil ressources. However, its high toxicity poses a challenge and requires a robust host organism. Therefore, finding new targets for genetic engineering is a promising approach to increase styrene tolerance of production strains and overcome product toxicity. The strain P. taiwanensis GRC3 already features high styrene tolerance, which was further increased by adaptive laboratory evolution. Isolated clones with faster growth in presence of 1% (v/v) styrene were analysed by whole genome sequencing in order to identify underlying mutations causing the tolerance phenotype.