In this work we employ a new strategy to increase the in vivo NADH availability. Specifically, we will present the construction and characterization of an Escherichia coli strain where the endogenous gapA gene encoding for a NAD-dependent glyceraldehydes-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) was replaced by the Clostridium acetobutylicum gapC gene encoding for a NADP-dependent GAPDH. Metabolic flux analysis using C-13 labeling experiments showed that the replacement of this essential reaction with a NADP dependent enzyme has significant effect on the pentose pathway.
The effect of replacing a NAD-dependent GAPDH by a NADP-dependent one was further studied using the production of NADPH-dependent synthesis of compounds.