International. The research team led by Korean Sang Sí Lee, from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) reported, for the first time, the production of 1,3-diaminopropane through the fermentation of a engineered bacterium.
1,3-diaminopropane is a three-carbon diamine, which has a wide range of industrial applications, including epoxy resin and cross-linking agents, as well as precursors for pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and organic chemicals. It can also be polymerized with dicarboxylic acids to make polyamides (nylons) for use in engineered plastics, medical materials and adhesives.
Traditionally, 1,3-diaminopropane is derived from petroleum-based processes. In an effort to address critical issues such as oil depletion and the environmental problems inherent in petroleum-based processes, the research team has developed a variety of Escherichia coli (E. coli) capable of producing 1,3-diaminopropane. Using this technology, 1,3-diaminopropane can now be produced from renewable biomass rather than oil.
E. coli as found in nature, is unable to produce 1,3-diaminopropane. But metabolic engineering, a technology for transforming microorganisms into highly efficient microbial cell factories capable of producing the chemical compounds of interest, was used to design the E. coli strain. First, naturally existing metabolic pathways for 1,3-diaminopropane biosynthesis were introduced into the virtual cell in silico to determine the most efficient metabolic pathway for the production of 1,3-diaminopropane. The selected metabolic pathway was then introduced into a strain of E. coli successfully producing 1,3-diaminopropane for the first time in the world.
