Ethylene glycol (EG) is an important platform chemical with steadily expanding global demand. Its commercial production is currently limited to fossil resources; no biosynthesis route has been delineated. Herein, a biosynthesis route for EG production from D-xylose is reported. This route consists of four steps: D-xylose → D-xylonate → 2-dehydro-3-deoxy-D-pentonate → glycoaldehyde → EG. Respective enzymes, D-xylose dehydrogenase, D-xylonate dehydratase, 2-dehydro-3-deoxy-D-pentonate aldolase, and glycoaldehyde reductase, were assembled. The route was implemented in a metabolically engineered Escherichia coli, in which the D-xylose → D-xylulose reaction was prevented by disrupting the D-xylose isomerase gene. The most efficient construct produced 11.7 g L(-1) of EG from 40.0 g L(-1) of D-xylose. Glycolate is a carbon-competing by-product during EG production in E. coli; blockage of glycoaldehyde → glycolate reaction was also performed by disrupting the gene encoding aldehyde dehydrogenase, but from this approach, EG productivity was not improved but rather led to D-xylonate accumulation. To channel more carbon flux towards EG than the glycolate pathway, further systematic metabolic engineering and fermentation optimization studies are still required to improve EG productivity.

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Embden-Meyerhof pathway (EMP) in tandem with 2-C-methyl-D-erythritol 4-phosphate pathway (MEP) is commonly used for isoprenoid biosynthesis in E. coli. However, this combination has limitations as EMP generates an imbalanced distribution of pyruvate and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (G3P). Herein, four glycolytic pathways—EMP, Entner-Doudoroff Pathway (EDP), Pentose Phosphate Pathway (PPP) and Dahms pathway were tested as MEP feeding modules for isoprene production. Results revealed the highest isoprene production from EDP containing modules, wherein pyruvate and G3P were generated simultaneously; isoprene titer and yield were more than three and six times higher than those of the EMP module, respectively. Additionally, the PPP module that generates G3P prior to pyruvate was significantly more effective than the Dahms pathway, in which pyruvate production precedes G3P. In terms of precursor generation and energy/reducing-equivalent supply, EDP+PPP was found to be the ideal feeding module for MEP. These findings may launch a new direction for the optimization of MEP-dependent isoprenoid biosynthesis pathways.

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