Bacterial Production of d-Erythroascorbic Acid and l-Ascorbic Acid through Functional Expression of Saccharomyces cerevisiae d-Arabinono-1,4-Lactone Oxidase in Escherichia coli

d-Arabinono-1,4-lactone oxidase, which catalyzes the terminal step in the biosynthesis of d-erythroascorbic acid in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, was functionally expressed in Escherichia coli inherently lacking the enzyme. The recombinant E. coli strain expressing the enzyme could overproduce d-erythroascorbic acid and l-ascorbic acid when supplied with d-arabinono-1,4-lactone and l-galactono-1,4-lactone, respectively.