Discovery of a novel re-releasing mechanism defies the existing knowledge

March 9, 2022

Applying for metabolic spices

A research group of Kobe University, the RIKEN CSRS and Tohoku University found a new mechanism of Escherichia coli converting glucose taken into the bacterial cell to glucose-6-phosphate and re-releasing the product out of the cell.

Furthermore, by combining metabolic engineering and cell-surface engineering based on this new mechanism, they successfully developed a new technique to enhance yields of target molecules.

By applying this new technique, a “metabolic spice” that can increase yields of target substances by adding a small portion into cultures of microbes might be developed in the future.

Original article
Metabolic Engineering doi:10.1016/j.ymben.2022.03.002
R. Fujiwara, M. Nakano, Y. Hirata, C. Otomo, D. Nonaka, S. Kawada, H. Nakazawa, M. Umetsu, T. Shirai, S. Noda, T. Tanaka, A. Kondo,
"G6P-capturing molecules in the periplasm of Escherichia coli accelerate the shikimate pathway".
Contact
Shuhei Noda; Research Scientist
Ryosuke Fujiwara; Special Postdoctoral Researcher
Akihiko Kondo; Team Leader
Cell Factory Research Team