Grant: Strategic Projects - Group

Traditionally, plant derived nutritional supplements have predominated the market. Nevertheless, with thedramatic increase in profitability within the nutraceutical and functional food markets, new environments arebeing investigated. Recently, the sea has begun to show promise as an abundant, hitherto untapped source ofnutraceuticals. Marine microorganisms, in particular, represent a relatively neglected source of extracts andnatural products derived from marine macroalgae, microalgae, cyanobacteria, bacteria and fungi. CoenzymeQ10 (CoQ10), a benzoquinone compound with ten isoprenoid units, is a product of interest to the nutraceuticalmarket. CoQ10 is the only ubiquinone found in humans. It is an essential component of the mitochondria andinvolved in the body's electron transport chain which produces adenosine triphosphate. Excellent therapeuticeffects of CoQ10 on various diseases have been reported, being approved as a drug in Japan for the treatmentof heart disease since 1974, as well as having various antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects which haverecently been exploited in several cosmetic products. In these roles, CoQ10 becomes a highly desiredingredient in both the dietary supplement and cosmetic industries and therefore of particular interest to oursupporting organization.Our proposed research aims at developing a novel bioprocess for the production of CoQ10, a food supplementand nutraceutical with demonstrated human health benefits. Central to this bioprocess is the development of amicrobial "biological factory" with enhanced capacity to produce CoQ10. The starting point for geneticallyengineering this factory will be both Escherichia coli and a marine bacterium. This marine bacterium ispigmented and naturally produces elevated levels of CoQ10. By the genetic modification of these host strainsthrough a combination of rational metabolic pathway engineering and random mutagenesis we will raiseCoQ10 productivity and engineer platform strains that will eventually be used in a novel large scale process forcommercial CoQ10 production.