Recent Advances in Microbial Synthesis of Poly-γ-Glutamic Acid: A Review
Danfeng Li,
Lizhen Hou,
Yaxin Gao,
Zhiliang Tian,
Bei Fan,
Fengzhong Wang,
Shuying Li
Affiliations
Danfeng Li
Institute of Food Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No. 2 Yuan Ming Yuan West Road, Beijing 100193, China
Lizhen Hou
Institute of Food Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No. 2 Yuan Ming Yuan West Road, Beijing 100193, China
Yaxin Gao
Institute of Food Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No. 2 Yuan Ming Yuan West Road, Beijing 100193, China
Zhiliang Tian
Institute of Food Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No. 2 Yuan Ming Yuan West Road, Beijing 100193, China
Bei Fan
Institute of Food Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No. 2 Yuan Ming Yuan West Road, Beijing 100193, China
Fengzhong Wang
Key Laboratory of Agro-Products Quality and Safety Control in Storage and Transport Process, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Shuying Li
Institute of Food Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No. 2 Yuan Ming Yuan West Road, Beijing 100193, China
Poly-γ-glutamic acid (γ-PGA) is a natural, safe, non-immunogenic, biodegradable, and environmentally friendly glutamic biopolymer. γ-PGA has been regarded as a promising bio-based materials in the food field, medical field, even in environmental engineering field, and other industrial fields. Microbial synthesis is an economical and effective way to synthesize γ-PGA. Bacillus species are the most widely studied producing strains. γ-PGA biosynthesis involves metabolic pathway of racemization, polymerization, transfer, and catabolism. Although microbial synthesis of γ-PGA has already been used extensively, productivity and yield remain the major constraints for its industrial application. Metabolic regulation is an attempt to solve the above bottleneck problems and meet the demands of commercialization. Therefore, it is important to understand critical factors that influence γ-PGA microbial synthesis in depth. This review focuses on production strains, biosynthetic pathway, and metabolic regulation. Moreover, it systematically summarizes the functional properties, purification procedure, and industrial application of γ-PGA.
