Efficient Itaconic acid production via protein-protein scaffold introduction between GltA, AcnA, and CadA in recombinant Escherichia coli.

Itaconic acid, which is a promising organic acid in synthetic polymers and some base-material production, has been produced by Aspergillus terreus fermentation at a high cost. The recombinant Escherichia coli that contained the cadA gene from A. terreus can produce itaconic acid but with low yield. By introducing the protein-protein scaffold between citrate synthesis, aconitase, and cis-aconitase decarboxylase, 5.7 g/L of itaconic acid was produced, which is 3.8-fold higher than that obtained with the strain without scaffold. The optimum pH and temperature for itaconic acid production were 8.5 and 30°C, respectively. When the competing metabolic network was inactivated by knock-out mutation, the itaconic acid concentration further increased, to 6.57 g/L.