SHIKIMAX: biotechnological production of aromatics

At WUR, we have developed SHIKIMAX: a platform method to use this natural pathway to produce these aromatics with biotechnology. Specifically, a bacterial strain was developed that uses the the Shikimate pathway as its primary catabolic route. This was found to be very effective, resulting in the highest yields ever reported for the Shikimate pathway.

• The strain requires only glycerol as a carbon source, eliminating the need of expensive supplemental amino acid sources in the growth medium
• High yields; for one aromatic target, yields were reported of up to 81.2% carbon yield, which is 2.3x higher than that of the next best reported bacterial strain.
• Can be produced efficiently through a biotechnological process
• Patented technology

Potential aromatics that can (potentially) be produced include 3-hydroxybenzoate, 4-hydroxybenzoate, salicylate, anthranilate and para-aminobenzoate, which can all function as precursors to other aromatics. Applications of these aromatics and their products include:

• Aspirin production from salicylate
• Fragrances (e.g. with vanillin or anisole)
• Food additives (e.g. 4-hydroxybenzoate, anthranilate, vanillin)
  

And other applications can be found across agrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, dyes, polymers, cosmetics, adhesives and antimicrobial products.

The technology is at TRL 3-4 and a patent application has been filed. The effectiveness of SHIKIMAX has been demonstrated in the laboratory with the industrial bacterial host Psuedomonas putida (P. Putida) for the production of salicylate, 4-hydroxybenzoate and 3-hydroxybenzoate, all of which are key aromatic precursor molecules for various industrial applications. Further productivity optimalisation is in progress. Wageningen University & Research offers technical expertise to support further development and application.

• Bruinsma, L., Batianis, C., Moreno Paz, S., Kurnia, K., Dirkmaat, Job. J., Müller, A., Juncosa Nunez, J., Weusthuis, R. A., & Martins dos Santos, V. A. P. (2024). Shikimate pathway-Dependent Catabolism: Enabling near-to-maximum production yield of aromatics. bioRxiv, 2024.07.06.602327.