HYBRID EVENT: You can participate in person at London, UK or Virtually from your home or work.

5th Edition of Euro-Global Conference on Biotechnology and Bioengineering

September 18-20 | Hybrid Event

September 18-20, 2025 | London, UK
ECBB 2025

Engineering Pseudomonas putida KT2440 for efficient 3-HP production and its evaluation using different carbon sources

Nandakumar Arumugam, Speaker at Biotechnology Conference
Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Korea, Republic of
Title: Engineering Pseudomonas putida KT2440 for efficient 3-HP production and its evaluation using different carbon sources

Abstract:

The industrial production of 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP) from glycerol is limited by the high cost of the essential cofactor coenzyme B12. This study engineered Pseudomonas putida KT2440, a native coenzyme B12-producing strain, as a potential host for 3-HP biosynthesis. Two synthetic modules were introduced in strain KT2440: the glycerol synthesis module, consisting of glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase and glycerol-3-phosphate phosphatase, and a 3-HP synthesis module, including glycerol dehydratase, glycerol dehydratase reactivase, and aldehyde dehydrogenase. The recombinant strain produced 35 mM 3-HP in 24 hr using glucose as a carbon source. To enhance production, genes involved in 3-HP degradation (3hpdH, 3hibdHIV, 3hibdHII, and 3hibdHI) and the glycerol kinase (glpK) gene were sequentially deleted, redirecting glycerol flux toward 3-HP biosynthesis. The resulting mutant strain achieved a titer of 403 mM 3-HP in 42 hr, with a yield of 0.91 mol/mol glycerol. Strain KT2440 showed a significantly low requirement for coenzyme B12, supporting a more economically viable production platform. Substituting glucose with gluconate as a carbon source significantly improved the 3-HP titer to 630 mM in 42 hr with a yield of 0.97 mol/mol glycerol. This increase in 3-HP production could be attributed to alleviating the generation of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate, which directly inhibits the activity of glycerol dehydratase. Overall, this work demonstrates the potential of P. putida KT2440 as an efficient and economical microbial chassis for 3-HP production from renewable carbon sources. The findings highlight both the metabolic flexibility and industrial applicability of this engineered strain for biotechnological production of valuable platform chemicals.

Biography:

Nandakumar Arumugam is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Metabolic Engineering at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Republic of Korea. His research focuses on metabolic engineering and synthetic biology, particularly in the microbial biosynthesis of valueadded chemicals such as (R)-1,3-butanediol, 1,3-propanediol, and 3-hydroxypropionic acid. With an M.Tech in Biotechnology and prior experience as an Assistant Professor in India, he integrates academic and research expertise. His work includes engineering Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas putida for efficient bioproduction using synthetic biology and systems approaches. He is a member of the Korean Society for Biotechnology and Bioengineering and the Microbiology Society and has presented his work at several national and international conferences.

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