High-yield Production of cis,cis-Muconic Acid from Catechol in Aqueous Solution by Biocatalyst

A fed-batch process was used to produce cis,cis-muconic acid from catechol by recombinant Escherichia coli cells expressing the catA gene, which encodes the Pseudomonas putida mt-2 catechol 1,2-dioxygenase responsible for catalyzing ortho-cleavage of catechol, as biocatalysts. We succeeded in producing 415 mM (59.0 g L−1) cis,cis-muconic acid in aqueous solution without generation of by-products in 12 h under the optimal conditions with successive addition of 10 mM catechol. The molar conversion yield based on the amount of consumed catechol was the theoretical value of 100% (mol mol−1).