Optimization of fermentation conditions for the production of curcumin by engineered Escherichia coli

Abstract

Curcumin is a plant secondary metabolite with outstanding therapeutic effects. Therefore, there is a great interest in developing new strategies to produce this high-value compound in a cheaper and environmentally friendly way. Curcumin heterologous production in Escherichia coli using artificial biosynthetic pathways was previously demonstrated using synthetic biology approaches. However, the culturing conditions to produce this compound were not optimized and so far only a two-step fermentation process involving the exchange of culture medium allowed high concentrations of curcumin to be obtained, which limits its production at an industrial scale. In this study, the culturing conditions to produce curcumin were evaluated and optimized. In addition, itwas concluded that E. Coli BL21 allows higher concentrations of curcumin to be produced than E. Coli K-12 strains. Different isopropyl b-D-thiogalactopyranoside concentrations, timeof protein expression induction andsubstrate type and concentrationwere also evaluated. The highest curcumin production obtainedwas 959.3 mM(95.93% of per cent yield), whichwas 3.1-fold higher than the highest concentration previously reported. This concentration was obtained using a two-stage fermentation with lysogeny broth (LB) and M9. Moreover, terrific brothwas also demonstrated to be a very interesting alternative mediumto produce curcumin because it also led to high concentrations (817.7 mM). The use of this single fermentation medium represents an advantage at industrial scale and, although the final production is lower than that obtained with the LB- M9 combination, it leads to a significantly higher production of curcumin in the first 24 h of fermentation. This study allowed obtaining the highest concentrations of curcumin reported so far in a heterologous organismand is of interest for all of those working with the heterologous production of curcuminoids, other complex polyphenolic compounds or plant secondary metabolites.