FURI | Spring 2020

Efficient Naringenin Flavonoid Biosynthesis via Metabolically Engineered Corynebacterium glutamicum

Flavonoids are valuable compounds naturally occurring in plants and fungi with properties useful for pharmaceuticals. However, previous biosynthesis studies and current methods of extracting and synthesizing the compounds are expensive and harmful to the environment. Metabolic engineering of the industrially relevant bacterium, Corynebacterium glutamicum, is being investigated as a sustainable, economic alternative. By introducing genes coding for enzymatic pathways, C. glutamicum can be enabled to convert biomass into naringenin flavonoid intermediates to be used as drug precursors. This study offers a solution to the sustainable production of pharmaceuticals utilizing renewable resources.