De novo biosynthesis of 2ʹ-fucosyllactose by bioengineered Corynebacterium glutamicum

2ʹ-Fucosyllactose (2ʹ-FL) which is well-known human milk oligosaccharide was biotechnologically synthesized using engineered Corynebacterium glutamicum, a GRAS microbial workhorse. By construction of the complete de novo pathway for GDP-L-fucose supply and heterologous expression of Escherichia coli lactose permease and Helicobacter pylori α-1,2-fucosyltransferase, bioengineered C. glutamicum BCGW_TL successfully biosynthesized 0.25 g L⁻¹ 2ʹ-FL from glucose. The additional genetic perturbations including the expression of a putative 2ʹ-FL exporter and disruption of the chromosomal pfkA gene allowed C. glutamicum BCGW_cTTLEΔP to produce 2.5 g L⁻¹ 2ʹ-FL batchwise. Finally, optimized fed-batch cultivation of the BCGW_cTTLEΔP using glucose, fructose, and lactose resulted in 21.5 g L⁻¹ 2ʹ-FL production with a productivity of 0.12 g L⁻¹•h, which were more than 3.3 times higher value relative to the batch culture of the BCGW_TL. Conclusively, it would be a groundwork to adopt C. glutamicum for biotechnological production of other food additives including human milk oligosaccharides.