Burkholderia sacchari LMG19450, a non-model organism and a promising microbial platform, was studied to determine nutrient limitation impact on poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) [P(3HB)] production and bacterial growth from xylose, a major hemicellulosic residue. Nitrogen and phosphorus limitations have been studied in a number of cases to enhance PHA accumulation, but not combining xylose and B. sacchari. Within this strategy, it was sought to understand how to control PHA production and even modulate monomer composition. Nitrogen-limited and phosphorus-limited fed-batch experiments in bioreactors were performed to evaluate each one's influence on cell growth and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) production. The mineral medium composition was defined based on yields calculated from typical results so that nitrogen was available during phosphorus limitation and residual phosphorus was available when limiting nitrogen. Sets of experiments were performed so as to promote cell growth in the first stage (supplied with initial xylose 15 g/L), followed by an accumulation phase, where N or P was the limiting nutrient when xylose was fed in pulses to avoid concentrations lower than 5 g/L. N-limited fed-batch specific cell growth (around 0.19 1/h) and substrate consumption (around 0.24 1/h) rates were higher when compared to phosphorus-limited ones. Xylose to PHA yield was similar in both conditions [0.37 g_P(3HB)/g_xyl]. We also described pst gene cluster in B. sacchari, responsible for high-affinity phosphate uptake. Obtained phosphorus to biomass yields might evidence polyphosphate accumulation. Results were compared with studies with B. sacchari and other PHA-producing microorganisms. Since it is the first report of the mentioned kinetic parameters for LMG 19450 growing on xylose solely, our results open exciting perspectives to develop an efficient bioprocess strategy with increased P(3HB) production from xylose or xylose-rich substrates.

Despite the versatility and many advantages of polyhydroxyalkanoates as petroleum-based plastic substitutes, their higher production cost compared to petroleum-based polymers has historically limited their large-scale production. One appealing approach to reducing production costs is to employ less expensive, renewable feedstocks. Xylose, for example is an abundant and inexpensive carbon source derived from hemicellulosic residues abundant in agro-industrial waste (sugarcane bagasse hemicellulosic hydrolysates). In this work, the production of poly-3-hydroxybutyrate P(3HB) from xylose was studied to develop technologies for conversion of agro-industrial waste into high-value chemicals and biopolymers. Specifically, this work elucidates the organization of the xylose assimilation operon of Burkholderia sacchari, a non-model bacterium with high capacity for P(3HB) accumulation. Overexpression of endogenous xylose isomerase and xylulokinase genes was successfully assessed, improving both specific growth rate and P(3HB) production. Compared to control strain (harboring pBBR1MCS-2), xylose utilization in the engineered strain was substantially improved with 25% increase in specific growth rate, 34% increase in P(3HB) production, and the highest P(3HB) yield from xylose reported to date for B. sacchari (Y P3HB/Xil = 0.35 g/g). This study highlights that xylA and xylB overexpression is an effective strategy to improve xylose utilization and P(3HB) production in B. sacchari.

Despite its ability to grow and produce high-value molecules using renewable carbon sources, two main factors must be improved to use Burkholderia sacchari as a chassis for bioproduction at an industrial scale: first, the lack of molecular tools to engineer this organism and second, the inherently slow growth rate and poly-3-hydroxybutyrate [P(3HB)] production using xylose. In this work, we have addressed both factors. First, we adapted a set of BglBrick plasmids and showed tunable expression in B. sacchari. Finally, we assessed growth rate and P(3HB) production through overexpression of xylose transporters, catabolic or regulatory genes. Overexpression of xylR significantly improved growth rate (55.5% improvement), polymer yield (77.27% improvement), and resulted in 71% of cell dry weight as P(3HB). These values are unprecedented for P(3HB) accumulation using xylose as a sole carbon source and highlight the importance of precise expression control for improving utilization of hemicellulosic sugars in B. sacchari.