BioProMo - Biotechnological production of Monoterpenoid

Many different monoterpenoids are valuable flavor and fragrance compounds, functional ingredients in cosmetics and potential agrochemicals. The BioProMo consortium will create an industrial biotechnology complement to fossil-resources-based chemical processes for industrial monoterpenoid production. A sustainable and competitive platform technology based on the solvent resistant microbe Pseudomonas putida will be established by combining biotechnological methods such as functional genomics, metabolic engineering, synthetic biology and bioprocess engineering.

Key aspects addressed by BioProMo are the increase of resilience in a monoterpenoid tolerant P. putida strain at the level of efflux pumps, the mitigation of monoterpenoid toxicity by producing them as glycosides and the usage of metabolic switches, shunt pathways and enzyme coupling to create a resilient and efficient production host.

The microbial platform aimed at will create two novel production routes: a) a whole-cell biocatalysis to selectively oxyfunctionalize a monoterpene hydrocarbon, a cheap by-product of the food processing industry (short –term goal) and b) a self-regulated de novo production circuit starting from the renewable raw material glycerol, a by-product of biodiesel production (mid-term goal). The project unites the complementary know-how and expertise of European research groups from three different countries to accomplish the goal of establishing a microbial production platform for monoterpenoids. The industrial partner of BioProMo will not only advice the research project from its market-oriented viewpoint but also actively participate in research and development to transfer respective processes into application.