Genetically engineering Synechocystis sp. Pasteur Culture Collection 6803 for the sustainable production of the plant secondary metabolite p -coumaric acid

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Abstract
Significance: The photosynthetic cyanobacteria are promising candidates for the sustainable production of a plethora of plant secondary metabolites, which are difficult to produce and purify in other systems. Many secondary metabolites are beneficial to human health. For instance, the phenylpropanoids, which are derived from p -coumaric acid, have anticancer, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory properties. Here, we constructed a strain of cyanobacterium Synechocystis 6803 that heterologously expressed a foreign gene encoding a tyrosine ammonia lyase, which converts tyrosine into p -coumaric acid and lacked a native laccase that degrades p- coumaric acid. The strain secreted ∼82.6 mg/L p -coumaric acid, which was readily extracted and purified from the culture medium. We thus show that cyanobacteria may indeed be used to sustainably produce plant secondary metabolites.

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