Acetoin production using metabolically engineered Klebsiella pneumoniae

Acetoin is variously applicable platform chemical in chemical and food industry. In this study, Klebsiella pneumoniae was engineered for acetoin production using metabolic engineering. From the recombinant Klebsiella pneumoniae (KMK-05) producing 2,3-butanediol, budC and dhaD genes encoding two 2,3-butanediol dehydrogenases were deleted to reduce 2,3-butanediol production. Furthermore, a transcriptional regulator, AcoK, was deleted to reduce the expression levels of acetoin degrading enzyme. Lastly, NADH oxidase was overexpressed for adjusting intracellular redox balance. The resulting strain (KJW-03-nox) produced considerable amount of acetoin, with concentration reaching 51 g/L with 2.6 g/L/h maximum productivity in 36 h fed-batch fermentation.