Metabolic engineering for products derived from malonyl-CoA

As the demand for fuels and chemicals increases, the biological production of products from renewable feedstocks has become a means of supplementing or replacing petroleum-based products. OPXBIO has engineered strains and bioprocesses for the economical production of 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP), which has been widely recognized as a platform bio-product with several valuable market applications.  One such product, the monomer acrylic acid, represents an $8 Billion global opportunity with end-product applications in paints and coatings, textiles, water treatment, and superabsorbent polymers.  A key focus of strain development efforts was towards increasing the cellular pools of malonyl-CoA, the first committed intermediate for the 3-HP production pathway. This engineered micro-organism and bioprocess is capable of producing commercially relevant rates, titers, and yields of 3-HP, which enable the large scale production of biologically derived acrylic acid at production costs competitive with petroleum based sources.