Highly Efficient Biosynthesis of Heliotropin by Engineered Escherichia coli Coexpressing Trans-Anethole Oxygenase and Formate Dehydrogenase

Heliotropin, a compound with important roles in the spice and fragrance industries and broad application prospects, is mainly produced through chemical methods. Here, we established a novel process for the synthesis of heliotropin by Escherichia coli whole cells through biotransformation of isosafrole. Directed evolution and high-throughput screening based on 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine were used to improve the activity of trans-anethole oxygenase toward isosafrole, and a mutant (TAO_3G2) was obtained that had a high ability to oxidize isosafrole. Formate dehydrogenase (FDH) and TAO_3G2 were coexpressed in E. coli, significantly increasing the catalytic efficiency by regenerating more NADH to promote isosafrole oxidation. Furthermore, after optimizing the molar ratio of isosafrole to the auxiliary substrate, the final concentration of heliotropin was increased from 9.15 to 19.45 g/L, and the maximum yield and space-time yield reached 96.02% and 3.89 g/L/h, respectively. These results suggest that the biosynthesis of heliotropin should have excellent industrial application value.