Microbial Production of Renewable Monoethylene Glycol

Monoethylene glycol (MEG) is an important commodity chemical which is utilized in such applications as plastic packaging, polyester fabric, and antifreeze.  It is derived from fossil fuels, and therefore, to reduce its environmental impact, we propose a single-step bioprocess in which plant-derived carbohydrates are converted by engineered microorganisms into renewable MEG.  Toward this goal, we have engineered novel metabolic pathways for the biological production of MEG into strains of E. coli.  In this work, we validate these pathways and demonstrate the production of MEG from various sugars, achieving titers up to 40 g/L at yields of 0.35 g-MEG/g-xylose.