Development of an integrated bioprocess for selective production of carotenoid cleavage products using novel dioxygenases

Oxidative degradation of carotenoids leads to apocarotenoids, which exhibit various bioactivities, e.g. flavors, pigments and vitamins. C13-Norisoprenoids, e.g. ionone and damascenone, belong to the apocarotenoids. They are found in essential oils of many plants and contribute significantly to their olfactory properties and therefore represent highly interesting natural flavors. Due to their very low natural concentrations, extraction of pure compounds is not viable from an economic point of view. They are only accessible by biotechnological means via unspecific cooxidation using oxidases, mostly lipoxygenases, in the presence of cooxidants such as linoleic acid. During the last few years the first carotenoid cleaving dioxygenases (CCD) from plants have been identified, a novel enzyme subclass, which catalyze the selective oxidation of carotenoid double bonds.
This project aims at the development of an integrated bioprocess to produce norisoprenoids from natural carotenoids using recombinant CCDs as biocatalysts with a focus on stabilization of the biocatalyst, dosage of hydrophobic substrates and in situ separation of products.

Das IGF-Vorhaben Nr. der Forschungsvereinigung DECHEMA e.V., Theodor-Heuss-Allee 25, 60486 Frankfurt am Main wurde über die AiF im Rahmen des Programms zur Förderung der industriellen Gemeinschaftsforschung (IGF) vom Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie aufgrund eines Beschlusses des Deutschen Bundestages gefördert.