Metabolic Engineering of Candida glabrata for Diacetyl Production

In this study, Candida glabrata, an efficient pyruvate-producing strain, was metabolically engineered for the production of the food ingredient diacetyl. A diacetyl biosynthetic pathway was reconstructed based on genetic modifications and medium optimization. The former included (i) channeling carbon flux into the diacetyl biosynthetic pathway by amplification of acetolactate synthase, (ii) elimination of the branched pathway of α-acetolactate by deleting the ILV5 gene, and (iii) restriction of diacetyl degradation by deleting the BDH gene. The resultant strain showed an almost 1∶1 co-production of α-acetolactate and diacetyl (0.95 g L−1). Furthermore, addition of Fe3+ to the medium enhanced the conversion of α-acetolactate to diacetyl and resulted in a two-fold increase in diacetyl production (2.1 g L−1). In addition, increased carbon flux was further channeled into diacetyl biosynthetic pathway and a titer of 4.7 g L−1 of diacetyl was achieved by altering the vitamin level in the flask culture. Thus, this study illustrates that C. glabrata could be tailored as an attractive platform for enhanced biosynthesis of beneficial products from pyruvate by metabolic engineering strategies.