초록
<P>Biosynthetic methods have the potential to deliver value-added chemicals from renewable feedstocks. However, despite major advances in metabolic engineering and synthetic biology, the rapid engineering of microbes to deliver high yields and titers of target compounds remains as a challenge. Here, we disclose a new chemical catalysis-based strategy for expanding the types of products available from unmodified microorganisms. By combining <I>Gluconobacter oxidans</I> as a whole cell biocatalyst in a single pot with a lysine organocatalyst, we demonstrate that aqueous solutions of C<SUB>n</SUB> n-aliphatic alcohols are converted to C<SUB>2n</SUB> α,β-unsaturated aldehydes in a single pot in mild conditions. This carbon-doubling reaction works with a range of C<SUB>2</SUB>-C<SUB>6</SUB> alcohol substrates. In the absence of the lysine organocatalyst, only n-aliphatic carboxylic acids are observed, indicating that the organocatalyst intercepts metabolic intermediates and redirects flux toward target chemicals. Taken together, our work reveals a new strategy of flux redirection to expand the scope of products from biosynthetic processes.</P><P>Biocompatible catalysts can intercept microbially produced metabolites and upgrade them to high-volume chemicals in mild, aqueous conditions.</P><BR>[FIG OMISSION]</BR>