Engineering of an Escherichia coli Strain for the Production of 3-Methyl-1-Butanol

Abstract

3-Methyl-1-butanol is a potential fuel additive or substitute. Previously this compound was identified in small quantities in yeast fermentation as one of the fusel alcohols. In this work, we engineered an Escherichia coli strain to produce 3-methyl-1-butanol from glucose via the host's amino acid biosynthetic pathways. Strain improvement with the removal of feedback inhibition and competing pathways increased the selectivity and productivity of 3-methyl-1-butanol. This work demonstrates the feasibility of production of 3-methyl-1-butanol as a biofuel and shows promise in using E. coli as a host for production.