SUMMARYMetabolic fluxes estimated from stable-isotope studies provide a key to understanding cell physiology and regulation of metabolism. A limitation of the classical method for metabolic flux analysis (MFA) is the requirement for isotopic steady state. To extend the scope of flux determination from stationary to nonstationary systems, we present a novel modeling strategy that combines key ideas from isotopomer spectral analysis (ISA) and stationary MFA. Isotopic transients of the precursor pool and the sampled products are described by two parameters, D and G parameters, respectively, which are incorporated into the flux model. The G value is the fraction of labeled product in the sample, and the D value is the fractional contribution of the feed for the production of labeled products. We illustrate the novel modeling strategy with a nonstationary system that closely resembles industrial production conditions, i.e. fed-batch fermentation of E. coli that produces 1,3-propanediol (PDO). Metabolic fluxes and the D and G parameters were estimated by fitting labeling distributions of biomass amino acids measured by GC/MS to a model of E. coli metabolism. We obtained highly consistent fits from the data with 82 redundant measurements. Metabolic fluxes were estimated for 20 time points during course of the fermentation. As such we established, for the first time, detailed time profiles of in vivo fluxes. We found that intracellular fluxes changed significantly during the fed-batch. The intracellular flux associated with PDO pathway increased by 10%. Concurrently, we observed a decrease in the split ratio between glycolysis and pentose phosphate pathway from 70/30 to 50/50 as a function of time. The TCA cycle flux, on the other hand, remained constant throughout the fermentation. Furthermore, our flux results provided additional insight in support of the assumed genotype of the organism. KeywordsInstationary fluxes; 13C flux analysis; elementary metabolite units (EMU); gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS); statistical analysis

L-Tyrosine (L-tyr) overproducing Escherichia coli strain derived from an L-phenylalanine (L-phe) overproducing strain is characterized in 10 L and 200 L scale fermentations. Deletion of the chromosomal region encoding for the pheA gene, chorismate mutase/prephenate dehydratase, its leader peptide (pheL) and its associated promoter resulted in significant increase in L-tyr production (Olson et al., 2007. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 74(5):1031-1040). Further increase in titer was achieved by overexpressing tyrA, encoding chorismate mutase/prephenate dehydrogenase, from a strong non-native trc promoter (Olson et al., 2007. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 74(5):1031-1040). Fermentation optimization studies include media component selection; glucose feed optimization, antifoam agent selection, and understanding fermentation parameters affecting foaming. Generational stability of the strain was evaluated along with rate, titer, and yield of tyrosine formation from glucose. L-tyr titer of 55 g/L in 48 h was demonstrated in 200 L batches, is the highest titer published till date. We have also evaluated two primary separations schemes to isolate and purify L-tyr from the fermentation broth. Physical separation of L-tyr crystals from biomass using a decanter type centrifuge, based on the density difference between the solids, is compared and contrasted with a strategy where L-tyr is first dissolved at pH 11.5 and then acid precipitated from clarified supernatants following removal of biomass using membrane filtration. L-tyr product purity of 98% with yields ranging from 90% to 95% is demonstrated.