MICROORGANISMS AND METHODS FOR THE BIOSYNTHESIS OF ADIPATE, HEXAMETHYLENEDIAMINE AND 6-AMINOCAPROIC ACID

[0001]This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/776,365, filed May 7, 2010, which claims the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/176,196, filed May 7, 2009, U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/219,365, filed Jun. 22, 2009, U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/244,844, filed Sep. 22, 2009, U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/246,973, filed Sep. 29, 2009, and U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/247,533, filed Sep. 30, 2009, each of which the entire contents are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002]The instant application contains a Sequence Listing which has been submitted via EFS-Web and is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Said ASCII copy, created on Jul. 11, 2012, is named Sequence_Listing.txt and is 35,150 bytes in size.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003]The present invention relates generally to biosynthetic processes, and more specifically to organisms having adipate, hexamethylenediamine, 6-aminocaproic acid and caprolactam biosynthetic capability.

[0004]Adipic acid, a dicarboxylic acid, has a molecular weight of 146.14. It can be used is to produce nylon 6,6, a linear polyamide made by condensing adipic acid with hexamethylenediamine. This is employed for manufacturing different kinds of fibers. Other uses of adipic acid include its use in plasticizers, unsaturated polyesters, and polyester polyols. Additional uses include for production of polyurethane, lubricant components, and as a food ingredient as a flavorant and gelling aid.

[0005]Historically, adipic acid was prepared from various fats using oxidation. Some current processes for adipic acid synthesis rely on the oxidation of KA oil, a mixture of cyclohexanone, the ketone or K component, and cyclohexanol, the alcohol or A component, or of pure cyclohexanol using an excess of strong nitric acid. There are several variations of this theme which differ in the routes for production of KA or cyclohexanol. For example, phenol is an alternative raw material in KA oil production, and the process for the synthesis of adipic acid from phenol has been described. The other versions of this process tend to use oxidizing agents other than nitric acid, such as hydrogen peroxide, air or oxygen.

[0006]In addition to hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) being used in the production of nylon-6,6 as described above, it is also utilized to make hexamethylene diisocyanate, a monomer feedstock used in the production of polyurethane. The diamine also serves as a cross-linking agent in epoxy resins. HMDA is presently produced by the hydrogenation of adiponitrile.

[0007]Caprolactam is an organic compound which is a lactam of 6-aminohexanoic acid (ε-aminohexanoic acid, 6-aminocaproic acid). It can alternatively be considered cyclic amide of caproic acid. One use of caprolactam is as a monomer in the production of nylon-6. Caprolactam can be synthesized from cyclohexanone via an oximation process using hydroxylammonium sulfate followed by catalytic rearrangement using the Beckmann rearrangement process step.

[0008]Methods for effectively producing commercial quantities of compounds such as hexamethylenediamine, 6-aminocaproic acid, levulinic acid and carpolactamare described herein and include related advantages.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

[0009]The invention provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam or hexametheylenediamine pathway. The microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding an enzyme in the respective 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexametheylenediamine or levulinic acid pathway. The invention additionally provides a method for producing 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam or hexametheylenediamine. The method can include culturing a 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexametheylenediamine or levulinic acid producing microbial organism, where the microbial organism expresses at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexametheylenediamine or levulinic acid pathway enzyme in a sufficient amount to produce the respective product, under conditions and for a sufficient period of time to produce 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexametheylenediamine or levulinic acid.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010]FIG. 1 shows an exemplary pathway for adipate degradation in the peroxisome of Penicillium chrysogenum.

[0011]FIG. 2 shows an exemplary pathway for adipate formation via a reverse degradation pathway. Several options are provided for the final conversion of adipyl-CoA to adipate.

[0012]FIG. 3 shows an exemplary pathway for adipate formation via the 3-oxoadipate pathway.

[0013]FIG. 4 show the similar enzyme chemistries of the last three steps of the 3-oxoadipate pathway for adipate synthesis and the reductive TCA cycle.

[0014]FIG. 5 shows an exemplary pathway for synthesis of adipic acid from glucose via cis,cis-muconic acid. Biosynthetic intermediates (abbreviations): D-erythrose 4-phosphate (E4P), phosphoenolpyruvic acid (PEP), 3-deoxy-D-arabinoheptulosonic acid 7-phosphate (DAHP), 3-dehydroquinic acid (DHQ), 3-dehydroshikimic acid (DHS), protocatechuic acid (PCA). Enzymes (encoding genes) or reaction conditions: (a) DAHP synthase (aroFFBR), (b) 3-dehydroquinate synthase (aroB), (c) 3-dehydroquinate dehydratase (aroD), (d) DHS dehydratase (aroZ), (e) protocatechuate decarboxylase (aroY), (f) catechol 1,2-dioxygenase (catA), (g) 10% Pt/C, H2, 3400 kPa, 25° C. Figure taken from Niu et al., Biotechnol. Prog. 18:201-211 (2002)).

[0015]FIG. 6 shows an exemplary pathway for adipate synthesis via alpha-ketoadipate using alpha-ketoglutarate as a starting point.

[0016]FIG. 7 shows an exemplary pathway for synthesis of adipate using lysine as a starting point.

[0017]FIG. 8 shows an exemplary caprolactam synthesis pathway using adipyl-CoA as a starting point.

[0018]FIG. 9 shows exemplary adipate synthesis pathways using alpha-ketoadipate as a starting point.

[0019]FIG. 10 shows exemplary pathways from succinyl-CoA and acetyl-CoA to hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) and caprolactam. Pathways for the production of adipate, 6-aminocaproate, caprolactam, and hexamethylenediamine from succinyl-CoA and acetyl-CoA are depicted. Abbreviations: A) 3-oxoadipyl-CoA thiolase, B) 3-oxoadipyl-CoA reductase, C) 3-hydroxyadipyl-CoA dehydratase, D) 5-carboxy-2-pentenoyl-CoA reductase, E) 3-oxoadipyl-CoA/acyl-CoA transferase, F) 3-oxoadipyl-CoA synthase, G) 3-oxoadipyl-CoA hydrolase, H) 3-oxoadipate reductase, I) 3-hydroxyadipate dehydratase, J) 5-carboxy-2-pentenoate reductase, K) adipyl-CoA/acyl-CoA transferase, L) adipyl-CoA synthase, M) adipyl-CoA hydrolase, N) adipyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming), O) 6-aminocaproate transaminase, P) 6-aminocaproate dehydrogenase, Q) 6-aminocaproyl-CoA/acyl-CoA transferase, R) 6-aminocaproyl-CoA synthase, S) amidohydrolase, T) spontaneous cyclization, U) 6-aminocaproyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming), V) HMDA transaminase, W) HMDA dehydrogenase.

[0020]FIG. 11 shows exemplary pathways from 4-aminobutyryl-CoA and acetyl-CoA to hexamethylenediamine and caprolactam. Pathways for the production of 6-aminocaproate, caprolactam, and hexamethylenediamine from 4-aminobutyryl-CoA and acetyl-CoA are depicted. Abbreviations: A) 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA thiolase, B) 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA reductase, C) 3-hydroxy-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA dehydratase, D) 6-aminohex-2-enoyl-CoA reductase, E) 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA/acyl-CoA transferase, F) 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA synthase, G) 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA hydrolase, H) 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoate reductase, I) 3-hydroxy-6-aminohexanoate dehydratase, J) 6-aminohex-2-enoate reductase, K) 6-aminocaproyl-CoA/acyl-CoA transferase, L) 6-aminocaproyl-CoA synthase, M) 6-aminocaproyl-CoA hydrolase, N) 6-aminocaproyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming), O) HMDA transaminase, P) HMDA dehydrogenase, Q) spontaneous cyclization, R) amidohydrolase.

[0021]FIG. 12 shows pathways to 6-aminocaproate from pyruvate and succinic semialdehyde. Enzymes are A) HODH aldolase, B) OHED hydratase, C) OHED reductase, D) 2-OHD decarboxylase, E) adipate semialdehyde aminotransferase and/or adipate semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating), F) OHED decarboxylase, G) 6-OHE reductase, H) 2-OHD aminotransferase and/or 2-OHD oxidoreductase (aminating), I) 2-AHD decarboxylase, J) OHED aminotransferase and/or OHED oxidoreductase (aminating), K) 2-AHE reductase, L) HODH formate-lyase and/or HODH dehydrogenase, M) 3-hydroxyadipyl-CoA dehydratase, N) 2,3-dehydroadipyl-CoA reductase, O) adipyl-CoA dehydrogenase, P) OHED formate-lyase and/or OHED dehydrogenase, Q) 2-OHD formate-lyase and/or 2-OHD dehydrogenase. Abbreviations are: HODH=4-hydroxy-2-oxoheptane-1,7-dioate, OHED=2-oxohept-4-ene-1,7-dioate, 2-OHD=2-oxoheptane-1,7-dioate, 2-AHE=2-aminohept-4-ene-1,7-dioate, 2-AHD=2-aminoheptane-1,7-dioate, and 6-OHE=6-oxohex-4-enoate.

[0022]FIG. 13 shows pathways to hexamethylenediamine from 6-aminocapropate. Enzymes are A) 6-aminocaproate kinase, B) 6-AHOP oxidoreductase, C) 6-aminocaproic semialdehyde aminotransferase and/or 6-aminocaproic semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating), D) 6-aminocaproate N-acetyltransferase, E) 6-acetamidohexanoate kinase, F) 6-AAHOP oxidoreductase, G) 6-acetamidohexanal aminotransferase and/or 6-acetamidohexanal oxidoreductase (aminating), H) 6-acetamidohexanamine N-acetyltransferase and/or 6-acetamidohexanamine hydrolase (amide), I) 6-acetamidohexanoate CoA transferase and/or 6-acetamidohexanoate CoA ligase, J) 6-acetamidohexanoyl-CoA oxidoreductase, K) 6-AAHOP acyltransferase, L) 6-AHOP acyltransferase, M) 6-aminocaproate CoA transferase and/or 6-aminocaproate CoA ligase, N) 6-aminocaproyl-CoA oxidoreductase. Abbreviations are: 6-AAHOP=[(6-acetamidohexanoyl)oxy]phosphonate and 6-AHOP=[(6-aminohexanoyl)oxy]phosphonate.

[0023]FIG. 14 shows: A) the acetyl-CoA cycle of arginine biosynthesis. Reactions (1) and (2) are catalyzed by ornithine acetyltransferase with acetylglutamate synthase and ornithine acyltransferase functionality. Reaction 3 is a lumped reaction catalyzed by acetylglutamate kinase, N-acetylglutamylphosphate reductase, and acetylornithine aminotransferase; B) the acetyl-CoA cycle of HMDA biosynthesis. Reactions (1) and (2) are catalyzed by HMDA acetyltransferase. Reaction (3) is a lumped reaction that includes all pathways to 6-acetamidohexanamine from 6-acetamidohexanoate shown in FIG. 13.

[0024]FIG. 15 shows the growth of E. coli in media containing various concentrations of 6-ACA. E. coli was inoculated into media and grown in either aerobic (left and right bars) or anaerobic (middle bars) conditions. The cultures were grown for 48 hrs during the first trial and 30 hrs for a second trial under aerobic conditions (right bars).

[0025]FIG. 16 shows the tolerance of E. coli when exposed to 6-ACA. Midlog (OD600=0.3, lower dashed line) or early stationary (OD600=0.6, upper dashed line) cells were spun down and resuspended in fresh M9-Glucose medium with various concentrations of 6-ACA. After overnight growth, cultures were measured for growth by measuring OD600.

[0026]FIG. 17 shows the ethanol production from cultures exposed to various concentrations of 6-ACA. Midlog or early stationary cells were spun down and resuspended in fresh M9-Glucose medium with various concentrations of 6-ACA. After overnight growth, cultures were measured for growth by measuring OD600 and metabolic activity assayed by ethanol production.

[0027]FIG. 18, panels A and B, show the growth in various concentrations of 6-ACA with and without glycine betaine. Panel A. OD600 measurements of medium inoculated with midlog cultures of E. coli with various concentrations of 6-ACA with (right bars) and without (left bars) 2 mM glycine betaine. Panel B. Photograph showing the growth of same cultures in the anaerobic bottles.

[0028]FIG. 19 shows LC/MS analysis of in vitro thiolase reactions. Succinyl-CoA and acetyl-CoA were added to His-tagged, purified thiolases at a ratio of 2:1 (succinyl-CoA:acetyl-CoA). Reactions were analyzed by LC/MS and quantified by comparison to a standard for acetoacetyl-CoA or peak area determined for 3-oxoadipyl-CoA (β-ketoadipyl-CoA).

[0029]FIG. 20 shows exemplary pathways from glutamate to hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) and 6-aminocaproate. The enzymes are designated as follows: A) glutamyl-CoA transferase and/or ligase, B) beta-ketothiolase, C) 3-oxo-6-aminopimeloyl-CoA oxidoreductase, D) 3-hydroxy-6-aminopimeloyl-CoA dehydratase, E) 6-amino-7-carboxyhept-2-enoyl-CoA reductase, F) 6-aminopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming), G) 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminotransferase and/or aminating oxidoreductase, H) homolysine decarboxylase, I) 6-aminopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, transferase and/or ligase, J) 2-aminopimelate decarboxylase. The enzyme commission number indicated for each reaction is described in Example XXVI below.

[0030]FIG. 21 shows exemplary pathways from glutaryl-CoA to hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) and 6-aminocaproate. The enzymes are designated as follows: A) glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase, B) 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, transferase and/or ligase, C) 3-oxopimelate reductase, D) 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 7-aminotransferase and/or 7-aminating oxidoreductase, E) 3-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate 3-aminotransferase and/or 3-aminating oxidoreductase, F) 3-oxopimelate kinase, G) 5-oxopimeloylphosphonate reductase, H) 3-oxopimelate CoA transferase and/or ligase, I) 5-oxopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming), J) 3-oxopimelate 3-aminotransferase and/or 3-aminating oxidoreductase, K) 3-aminopimelate CoA transferase and/or ligase, L) 5-aminopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming), M) 3-aminopimelate kinase, N) 5-aminopimeloylphosphonate reductase, O) 3-aminopimelate reductase, P) 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase, Q) 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase and/or aminating oxidoreductase, R) 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase, S) homolysine decarboxylase, T) 3-aminopimelate 2,3-aminomutase, U) 2-aminopimelate kinase, V) 2-aminopimelate CoA transferase and/or ligase, W) 2-aminopimelate reductase, X) 6-aminopimeloylphosphonate reductase, Y) 6-aminopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming), Z) 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase and/or 7-aminating oxidoreductase, AA) 2-aminopimelate decarboxylase and AB) 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 3-aminotransferase and/or 3-aminating oxidoreductase. The enzyme commission number indicated for each reaction is described in XXVI below.

[0031]FIG. 22 shows an exemplary pathway from pyruvate and 4-aminobutanal to hexamethylenediamine (HMDA). The enzymes are designated as follows: A) 2-oxo-4-hydroxy-7-aminoheptanoate aldolase, B) 2-oxo-4-hydroxy-7-aminoheptanoate dehydratase, C) 2-oxo-7-aminohept-3-enoate reductase, D) 2-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate aminotransferase and/or aminating oxidoreductase, E) homolysine decarboxylase, F) 2-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate decarboxylase, G) 6-aminohexanal aminotransferase and/or 6-aminohexanal aminating oxidoreductase. The enzyme commission number indicated for each reaction is described in Example XXVI below.

[0032]FIG. 23 shows an exemplary pathway from homolysine to 6-aminocaproate. Step A is catalyzed by homolysine 2-monooxygenase. Step B is hydrolysis, catalyzed by dilute acid or base.

[0033]FIG. 24 shows exemplary pathways from 6-aminocaproate to hexamethylenediamine. This figure depicts additional pathways further to those presented in FIG. 13. The enzymes are designated as follows: A) 6-aminocaproate kinase, B) 6-AHOP oxidoreductase, C) 6-aminocaproic semialdehyde aminotransferase and/or 6-aminocaproic semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating), D) 6-aminocaproate N-acetyltransferase, E) 6-acetamidohexanoate kinase, F) 6-AAHOP oxidoreductase, G) 6-acetamidohexanal aminotransferase and/or 6-acetamidohexanal oxidoreductase (aminating), H) 6-acetamidohexanamine N-acetyltransferase and/or 6-acetamidohexanamine hydrolase (amide), I) 6-acetamidohexanoate CoA transferase and/or 6-acetamidohexanoate CoA ligase, J) 6-acetamidohexanoyl-CoA oxidoreductase, K) 6-AAHOP acyltransferase, L) 6-AHOP acyltransferase, M) 6-aminocaproate CoA transferase and/or 6-aminocaproate CoA ligase, N) 6-aminocaproyl-CoA oxidoreductase, O) 6-aminocaproate reductase and P) 6-acetamidohexanoate reductase. Abbreviations are: 6-AAHOP=[(6-acetamidohexanoyl)oxy]phosphonate and 6-AHOP=[(6-aminohexanoyl)oxy]phosphonate. The enzyme commission number indicated for each reaction is described in Example XXVI below.

[0034]FIG. 25 shows exemplary pathways from succinyl-CoA and acetyl-CoA to hexamethylenediamine (HMDA), caprolactam or levulinic acid. Pathways for the production of adipate, 6-aminocaproate, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine and levulinic acid from succinyl-CoA and acetyl-CoA are depicted. This figure depicts additional pathways further to those presented in FIG. 10. The enzymes are designated as follows: A) 3-oxoadipyl-CoA thiolase, B) 3-oxoadipyl-CoA reductase, C) 3-hydroxyadipyl-CoA dehydratase, D) 5-carboxy-2-pentenoyl-CoA reductase, E) 3-oxoadipyl-CoA/acyl-CoA transferase, F) 3-oxoadipyl-CoA synthase, G) 3-oxoadipyl-CoA hydrolase, H) 3-oxoadipate reductase, I) 3-hydroxyadipate dehydratase, J) 5-carboxy-2-pentenoate reductase, K) adipyl-CoA/acyl-CoA transferase, L) adipyl-CoA synthase, M) adipyl-CoA hydrolase, N) adipyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming), O) 6-aminocaproate transaminase, P) 6-aminocaproate dehydrogenase, Q) 6-aminocaproyl-CoA/acyl-CoA transferase, R) 6-aminocaproyl-CoA synthase, S) amidohydrolase, T) spontaneous cyclization, U) 6-aminocaproyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming), V) HMDA transaminase, W) HMDA dehydrogenase, X) adipate reductase, Y) adipate kinase, Z) adipylphosphate reductase, and AA) 3-oxoadipate decarboxylase.

[0035]FIG. 26 shows exemplary pathways from 2-amino-7-oxosubarate to hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) and 6-aminocaproate. The enzymes are designated as follows: A) 2-amino-7-oxosubarate keto-acid decarboxylase, B) 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate decarboxylase, C) 6-aminohexanal aminating oxidoreductase and/or 6-aminohexanal aminotransferase, D) 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate oxidoreductase, E) 2-aminopimelate decarboxylase, F) 6-aminohexanal oxidoreductase, G) 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate decarboxylase, H) homolysine decarboxylase, I) 2-amino-7-oxosubarate amino acid decarboxylase, J) 2-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase and/or 2-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate aminotransferase, K) 2-amino-7-oxosubarate aminating oxidoreductase and/or 2-amino-7-oxosubarate aminotransferase, L) 2,7-diaminosubarate decarboxylase and M) 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase and/or 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminotransferase. The enzyme commission number indicated for each reaction is described in Example XXVI below.

[0036]FIG. 27 shows an exemplary pathway from glutamate-5-semialdehyde to 2-amino-7-oxosubarate. The enzymes are designated as follows: A) 2-amino-5-hydroxy-7-oxosubarate aldolase, B) 2-amino-5-hydroxy-7-oxosubarate dehydratase, C) 2-amino-5-ene-7-oxosubarate reductase.

[0037]FIG. 28 shows the 6-ACA versus growth yields for an ADHEr, LDH_D mutant.

[0038]FIG. 29 shows the 6-ACA versus growth yields for an ADHEr, MDH, ASPT, LDH_D mutant.

[0039]FIG. 30 shows the 6-ACA versus growth yields for an ADHEr, MDH, ASPT, LDH_D, THD2 mutant.

[0040]FIG. 31 shows the 6-ACA versus growth yields for an ADHEr, MDH, ASPT, LDH_D, GLUDy mutant.

[0041]FIG. 32 shows the 6-ACA versus growth yields for a PGI, EDA mutant or a PGI, PGDHy mutant.

[0042]FIG. 33 shows the 6-ACA versus growth yields for a PGI, EDA, ADHEr mutant or a PGI, PGDHy, ADHEr mutant.

[0043]FIG. 34 shows the 6-ACA versus growth yields for an ADHEr, PGI, HEX1 mutant.

[0044]FIG. 35 shows growth-coupled adipate production characteristics of high priority strain designs (grey) compared with that of wild-type E. coli (black). A glucose uptake rate of 10 mmol/gDW/hr is assumed.

[0045]FIG. 36 shows the activity of CAR 889 and 891 using 20 mM Adipate. Activity is shown as units per mg of total protein in the crude lysate.

[0046]FIG. 37 shows the activity of CAR 720, 889, 890, 891 using 50 mM 6-aminocaproate. Activity is shown as units per mg of total protein in the crude lysate.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0047]The present invention is directed to the design and production of cells and organisms having biosynthetic production capabilities for 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid. The results described herein indicate that metabolic pathways can be designed and recombinantly engineered to achieve the biosynthesis of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid in Escherichia coli and other cells or organisms. Biosynthetic production of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid can be confirmed by construction of strains having the designed metabolic genotype. These metabolically engineered cells or organisms also can be subjected to adaptive evolution to further augment 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid biosynthesis, including under conditions approaching theoretical maximum growth.

[0048]As disclosed herein, a number of metabolic pathways for the production of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid are described. Two routes, the reverse adipate degradation pathway and the 3-oxoadipate pathway, were found to be beneficial with respect to: (i) the adipate yields (92% molar yield on glucose), (ii) the lack of oxygen requirement for adipate synthesis, (iii) the associated energetics, and (iv) the theoretical capability to produce adipate as the sole fermentation product. Metabolic pathways for adipate production that pass through a-ketoadipate or lysine are also described but are lower yielding and require aeration for maximum production. A pathway for producing either or both of 6-aminocaproate and caprolactam from adipyl-CoA, a precursor in the reverse degradation pathway, is also disclosed herein.

[0049]As disclosed herein, a number of exemplary pathways for biosynthesis of adipate are described. One exemplary pathway involves adipate synthesis via a route that relies on the reversibility of adipate degradation as described in organisms such as P. chrysogenum (see Examples I and II). A second exemplary pathway entails the formation of 3-oxoadipate followed by its reduction, dehydration and again reduction to form adipate (see Examples III and IV). The adipate yield using either of these two pathways is 0.92 moles per mole glucose consumed. The uptake of oxygen is not required for attaining these theoretical maximum yields, and the energetics under anaerobic conditions are favorable for growth and product secretion. A method for producing adipate from glucose-derived cis,cis-muconic acid was described previously (Frost et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,987, issued Jan. 30, 1996)(see Example V). Advantages of the embodiments disclosed herein over this previously described method are discussed. Metabolic pathways for adipate production that pass through α-ketoadipate (Example VI) or lysine (Example VII) precursors are lower yielding and require aeration for maximum production. A pathway for producing either or both of 6-aminocaproate and caprolactam from adipyl-CoA, a precursor in the reverse degradation pathway, is described (see Example VIII and IX). Additional pathways for producing adipate are described in Examples X and XI. Pathways for producing any one, two, three or all four of 6-aminocaproate, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine and levulinic acid from succinyl-CoA and acetyl-CoA are described in Examples XII, XXVIII. Several pathways for the production of 6-aminocaproate from succinic semialdehyde and pyruvate are described in Example XIX. Several pathways for the production of hexamethylenediamine from 6-aminocaproate are described in Examples XX and XXVII. A pathway for producing either or both 6-aminocaproate and hexamethylenediamine from glutamate is described in Examples XXIV and XXV. Several pathways for the production of hexamethylenediamine from glutaryl-CoA and at least one pathway for production of 6-aminocaproate from glutaryl-CoA are described in Examples XXIV and XXV. A pathway for producing 6-aminocaproate from homolysine is described in Example XXV. Pathways for producing hexamethylenediamine from 2-amino-7-oxosubarate are described in Example XXIV. Several pathways for producing 6-aminocaproate are described in Example XXV. Exemplary genes and enzymes required for constructing microbes with these capabilities are described as well as methods for cloning and transformation, monitoring product formation, and using the engineered microorganisms for production.

[0050]As disclosed herein, six different pathways for adipic acid synthesis using glucose/sucrose as a carbon substrate are described. For all maximum yield calculations, the missing reactions in a given pathway were added to the E. coli stoichiometric network in SimPheny that is similar to the one described previously (Reed et al., Genome Biol. 4:R54 (2003)). Adipate is a charged molecule under physiological conditions and was assumed to require energy in the form of a proton-based symport system to be secreted out of the network. Such a transport system is thermodynamically feasible if the fermentations are carried out at neutral or near-neutral pH. Low pH adipic acid formation would require an ATP-dependant export mechanism, for example, the ABC system as opposed to proton symport. The reactions in the pathways and methods of implementation of these pathways are described in Examples I-XI.

[0051]As used herein, the term “non-naturally occurring” when used in reference to a microbial organism or microorganism of the invention is intended to mean that the microbial organism has at least one genetic alteration not normally found in a naturally occurring strain of the referenced species, including wild-type strains of the referenced species. Genetic alterations include, for example, modifications introducing expressible nucleic acids encoding metabolic polypeptides, other nucleic acid additions, nucleic acid deletions and/or other functional disruption of the microbial genetic material. Such modifications include, for example, coding regions and functional fragments thereof, for heterologous, homologous or both heterologous and homologous polypeptides for the referenced species. Additional modifications include, for example, non-coding regulatory regions in which the modifications alter expression of a gene or operon. Exemplary metabolic polypeptides include enzymes within a 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid biosynthetic pathway.

[0052]A metabolic modification refers to a biochemical reaction that is altered from its naturally occurring state. Therefore, non-naturally occurring microorganisms can have genetic modifications to nucleic acids encoding metabolic polypeptides or, functional fragments thereof. Exemplary metabolic modifications are disclosed herein.

[0053]As used herein, the term “isolated” when used in reference to a microbial organism is intended to mean an organism that is substantially free of at least one component as the referenced microbial organism is found in nature. The term includes a microbial organism that is removed from some or all components as it is found in its natural environment. The term also includes a microbial organism that is removed from some or all components as the microbial organism is found in non-naturally occurring environments. Therefore, an isolated microbial organism is partly or completely separated from other substances as it is found in nature or as it is grown, stored or subsisted in non-naturally occurring environments. Specific examples of isolated microbial organisms include partially pure microbes, substantially pure microbes and microbes cultured in a medium that is non-naturally occurring.

[0054]As used herein, the terms “microbial,” “microbial organism” or “microorganism” is intended to mean any organism that exists as a microscopic cell that is included within the domains of archaea, bacteria or eukarya. Therefore, the term is intended to encompass prokaryotic or eukaryotic cells or organisms having a microscopic size and includes bacteria, archaea and eubacteria of all species as well as eukaryotic microorganisms such as yeast and fungi. The term also includes cell cultures of any species that can be cultured for the production of a biochemical.

[0055]As used herein, the term “CoA” or “coenzyme A” is intended to mean an organic cofactor or prosthetic group (nonprotein portion of an enzyme) whose presence is required for the activity of many enzymes (the apoenzyme) to form an active enzyme system. Coenzyme A functions in certain condensing enzymes, acts in acetyl or other acyl group transfer and in fatty acid synthesis and oxidation, pyruvate oxidation and in other acetylation.

[0056]As used herein, “adipate,” having the chemical formula —OOC—(CH2)4-COO— (see FIG. 2) (IUPAC name hexanedioate), is the ionized form of adipic acid (IUPAC name hexanedioic acid), and it is understood that adipate and adipic acid can be used interchangeably throughout to refer to the compound in any of its neutral or ionized forms, including any salt forms thereof. It is understood by those skilled understand that the specific form will depend on the pH.

[0057]As used herein, “6-aminocaproate,” having the chemical formula —OOC—(CH2)5-NH2 (see FIGS. 8 and 12), is the ionized form of 6-aminocaproic acid (IUPAC name 6-aminohexanoic acid), and it is understood that 6-aminocaproate and 6-aminocaproic acid can be used interchangeably throughout to refer to the compound in any of its neutral or ionized forms, including any salt forms thereof. It is understood by those skilled understand that the specific form will depend on the pH.

[0058]As used herein, “caprolactam” (IUPAC name azepan-2-one) is a lactam of 6-aminohexanoic acid (see FIG. 8).

[0059]As used herein, “hexamethylenediamine,” also referred to as 1,6-diaminohexane or 1,6-hexanediamine, has the chemical formula H2N(CH2)6NH2 (see FIGS. 10, 11 and 13).

[0060]As used herein, the term “substantially anaerobic” when used in reference to a culture or growth condition is intended to mean that the amount of oxygen is less than about 10% of saturation for dissolved oxygen in liquid media. The term also is intended to include sealed chambers of liquid or solid medium maintained with an atmosphere of less than about 1% oxygen.

[0061]As used herein, the term “osmoprotectant” when used in reference to a culture or growth condition is intended to mean a compound that acts as an osmolyte and helps a microbial organism as described herein survive osmotic stress. Osmoprotectants include, for example, betaines, amino acids, and the sugar trehalose. Non-limiting examples of such are glycine betaine, praline betaine, dimethylthetin, dimethylslfonioproprionate, 3-dimethylsulfonio-2-methylproprionate, pipecolic acid, dimethylsulfonioacetate, choline, L-carnitine and ectoine.

[0062]As used herein, the term “growth-coupled” when used in reference to the production of a biochemical is intended to mean that the biosynthesis of the referenced biochemical is produced during the growth phase of a microorganism. In a particular embodiment, the growth-coupled production can be obligatory, meaning that the biosynthesis of the referenced biochemical is an obligatory product produced during the growth phase of a microorganism.

[0063]As used herein, “metabolic modification” is intended to refer to a biochemical reaction that is altered from its naturally occurring state. Metabolic modifications can include, for example, elimination of a biochemical reaction activity by functional disruptions of one or more genes encoding an enzyme participating in the reaction. Sets of exemplary metabolic modifications are described herein (see Example XXX).

[0064]As used herein, the term “gene disruption,” or grammatical equivalents thereof, is intended to mean a genetic alteration that renders the encoded gene product inactive. The genetic alteration can be, for example, deletion of the entire gene, deletion of a regulatory sequence required for transcription or translation, deletion of a portion of the gene which results in a truncated gene product, or by any of various mutation strategies that inactivate the encoded gene product. One particularly useful method of gene disruption is complete gene deletion because it reduces or eliminates the occurrence of genetic reversions in the non-naturally occurring microorganisms of the invention.

[0065]“Exogenous” as it is used herein is intended to mean that the referenced molecule or the referenced activity is introduced into the host microbial organism. The molecule can be introduced, for example, by introduction of an encoding nucleic acid into the host genetic material such as by integration into a host chromosome or as non-chromosomal genetic material such as a plasmid. Therefore, the term as it is used in reference to expression of an encoding nucleic acid refers to introduction of the encoding nucleic acid in an expressible form into the microbial organism. When used in reference to a biosynthetic activity, the term refers to an activity that is introduced into the host reference organism. The source can be, for example, a homologous or heterologous encoding nucleic acid that expresses the referenced activity following introduction into the host microbial organism. Therefore, the term “endogenous” refers to a referenced molecule or activity that is present in the host. Similarly, the term when used in reference to expression of an encoding nucleic acid refers to expression of an encoding nucleic acid contained within the microbial organism. The term “heterologous” refers to a molecule or activity derived from a source other than the referenced species whereas “homologous” refers to a molecule or activity derived from the host microbial organism. Accordingly, exogenous expression of an encoding nucleic acid of the invention can utilize either or both a heterologous or homologous encoding nucleic acid.

[0066]It is understood that when more than one exogenous nucleic acid is included in a microbial organism that the more than one exogenous nucleic acids refers to the referenced encoding nucleic acid or biosynthetic activity, as discussed above. It is further understood, as disclosed herein, that such more than one exogenous nucleic acids can be introduced into the host microbial organism on separate nucleic acid molecules, on polycistronic nucleic acid molecules, or a combination thereof, and still be considered as more than one exogenous nucleic acid. For example, as disclosed herein a microbial organism can be engineered to express two or more exogenous nucleic acids encoding a desired pathway enzyme or protein. In the case where two exogenous nucleic acids encoding a desired activity are introduced into a host microbial organism, it is understood that the two exogenous nucleic acids can be introduced as a single nucleic acid, for example, on a single plasmid, on separate plasmids, can be integrated into the host chromosome at a single site or multiple sites, and still be considered as two exogenous nucleic acids. Similarly, it is understood that more than two exogenous nucleic acids can be introduced into a host organism in any desired combination, for example, on a single plasmid, on separate plasmids, can be integrated into the host chromosome at a single site or multiple sites, and still be considered as two or more exogenous nucleic acids, for example three exogenous nucleic acids. Thus, the number of referenced exogenous nucleic acids or biosynthetic activities refers to the number of encoding nucleic acids or the number of biosynthetic activities, not the number of separate nucleic acids introduced into the host organism.

[0067]The non-naturally occurring microbial organisms of the invention can contain stable genetic alterations, which refers to microorganisms that can be cultured for greater than five generations without loss of the alteration. Generally, stable genetic alterations include modifications that persist greater than 10 generations, particularly stable modifications will persist more than about 25 generations, and more particularly, stable genetic modifications will be greater than 50 generations, including indefinitely.

[0068]In the case of gene disruptions, a particularly useful stable genetic alteration is a gene deletion. The use of a gene deletion to introduce a stable genetic alteration is particularly useful to reduce the likelihood of a reversion to a phenotype prior to the genetic alteration. For example, stable growth-coupled production of a biochemical can be achieved, for example, by deletion of a gene encoding an enzyme catalyzing one or more reactions within a set of metabolic modifications. The stability of growth-coupled production of a biochemical can be further enhanced through multiple deletions, significantly reducing the likelihood of multiple compensatory reversions occurring for each disrupted activity.

[0069]Those skilled in the art will understand that the genetic alterations, including metabolic modifications exemplified herein, are described with reference to a suitable host organism such as E. coli and their corresponding metabolic reactions or a suitable source organism for desired genetic material such as genes for a desired metabolic pathway. However, given the complete genome sequencing of a wide variety of organisms and the high level of skill in the area of genomics, those skilled in the art will readily be able to apply the teachings and guidance provided herein to essentially all other organisms. For example, the E. coli metabolic alterations exemplified herein can readily be applied to other species by incorporating the same or analogous encoding nucleic acid from species other than the referenced species. Such genetic alterations include, for example, genetic alterations of species homologs, in general, and in particular, orthologs, paralogs or nonorthologous gene displacements.

[0070]An ortholog is a gene or genes that are related by vertical descent and are responsible for substantially the same or identical functions in different organisms. For example, mouse epoxide hydrolase and human epoxide hydrolase can be considered orthologs for the biological function of hydrolysis of epoxides. Genes are related by vertical descent when, for example, they share sequence similarity of sufficient amount to indicate they are homologous, or related by evolution from a common ancestor. Genes can also be considered orthologs if they share three-dimensional structure but not necessarily sequence similarity, of a sufficient amount to indicate that they have evolved from a common ancestor to the extent that the primary sequence similarity is not identifiable. Genes that are orthologous can encode proteins with sequence similarity of about 25% to 100% amino acid sequence identity. Genes encoding proteins sharing an amino acid similarity less that 25% can also be considered to have arisen by vertical descent if their three-dimensional structure also shows similarities. Members of the serine protease family of enzymes, including tissue plasminogen activator and elastase, are considered to have arisen by vertical descent from a common ancestor.

[0071]Orthologs include genes or their encoded gene products that through, for example, evolution, have diverged in structure or overall activity. For example, where one species encodes a gene product exhibiting two functions and where such functions have been separated into distinct genes in a second species, the three genes and their corresponding products are considered to be orthologs. For the production of a biochemical product, those skilled in the art will understand that the orthologous gene harboring the metabolic activity to be introduced or disrupted is to be chosen for construction of the non-naturally occurring microorganism. An example of orthologs exhibiting separable activities is where distinct activities have been separated into distinct gene products between two or more species or within a single species. A specific example is the separation of elastase proteolysis and plasminogen proteolysis, two types of serine protease activity, into distinct molecules as plasminogen activator and elastase. A second example is the separation of mycoplasma 5′-3′ exonuclease and Drosophila DNA polymerase III activity. The DNA polymerase from the first species can be considered an ortholog to either or both of the exonuclease or the polymerase from the second species and vice versa.

[0072]In contrast, paralogs are homologs related by, for example, duplication followed by evolutionary divergence and have similar or common, but not identical functions. Paralogs can originate or derive from, for example, the same species or from a different species. For example, microsomal epoxide hydrolase (epoxide hydrolase I) and soluble epoxide hydrolase (epoxide hydrolase II) can be considered paralogs because they represent two distinct enzymes, co-evolved from a common ancestor, that catalyze distinct reactions and have distinct functions in the same species. Paralogs are proteins from the same species with significant sequence similarity to each other suggesting that they are homologous, or related through co-evolution from a common ancestor. Groups of paralogous protein families include HipA homologs, luciferase genes, peptidases, and others.

[0073]A nonorthologous gene displacement is a nonorthologous gene from one species that can substitute for a referenced gene function in a different species. Substitution includes, for example, being able to perform substantially the same or a similar function in the species of origin compared to the referenced function in the different species. Although generally, a nonorthologous gene displacement will be identifiable as structurally related to a known gene encoding the referenced function, less structurally related but functionally similar genes and their corresponding gene products nevertheless will still fall within the meaning of the term as it is used herein. Functional similarity requires, for example, at least some structural similarity in the active site or binding region of a nonorthologous gene product compared to a gene encoding the function sought to be substituted. Therefore, a nonorthologous gene includes, for example, a paralog or an unrelated gene.

[0074]Therefore, in identifying and constructing the non-naturally occurring microbial organisms of the invention having 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid biosynthetic capability, those skilled in the art will understand with applying the teaching and guidance provided herein to a particular species that the identification of metabolic modifications can include identification and inclusion or inactivation of orthologs. To the extent that paralogs and/or nonorthologous gene displacements are present in the referenced microorganism that encode an enzyme catalyzing a similar or substantially similar metabolic reaction, those skilled in the art also can utilize these evolutionally related genes. In gene disruption strategies, evolutionally related genes can also be disrupted or deleted in a host microbial organism, paralogs or orthologs, to reduce or eliminate activities to ensure that any functional redundancy in enzymatic activities targeted for disruption do not short circuit the designed metabolic modifications.

[0075]Orthologs, paralogs and nonorthologous gene displacements can be determined by methods well known to those skilled in the art. For example, inspection of nucleic acid or amino acid sequences for two polypeptides will reveal sequence identity and similarities between the compared sequences. Based on such similarities, one skilled in the art can determine if the similarity is sufficiently high to indicate the proteins are related through evolution from a common ancestor. Algorithms well known to those skilled in the art, such as Align, BLAST, Clustal W and others compare and determine a raw sequence similarity or identity, and also determine the presence or significance of gaps in the sequence which can be assigned a weight or score. Such algorithms also are known in the art and are similarly applicable for determining nucleotide sequence similarity or identity. Parameters for sufficient similarity to determine relatedness are computed based on well known methods for calculating statistical similarity, or the chance of finding a similar match in a random polypeptide, and the significance of the match determined. A computer comparison of two or more sequences can, if desired, also be optimized visually by those skilled in the art. Related gene products or proteins can be expected to have a high similarity, for example, 25% to 100% sequence identity. Proteins that are unrelated can have an identity which is essentially the same as would be expected to occur by chance, if a database of sufficient size is scanned (about 5%). Sequences between 5% and 24% may or may not represent sufficient homology to conclude that the compared sequences are related. Additional statistical analysis to determine the significance of such matches given the size of the data set can be carried out to determine the relevance of these sequences.

[0076]Exemplary parameters for determining relatedness of two or more sequences using the BLAST algorithm, for example, can be as set forth below. Briefly, amino acid sequence alignments can be performed using BLASTP version 2.0.8 (Jan. 5, 1999) and the following parameters: Matrix: 0 BLOSUM62; gap open: 11; gap extension: 1; x_dropoff: 50; expect: 10.0; wordsize: 3; filter: on. Nucleic acid sequence alignments can be performed using BLASTN version 2.0.6 (Sep. 16, 1998) and the following parameters: Match: 1; mismatch: −2; gap open: 5; gap extension: 2; x_dropoff: 50; expect: 10.0; wordsize: 11; filter: off. Those skilled in the art will know what modifications can be made to the above parameters to either increase or decrease the stringency of the comparison, for example, and determine the relatedness of two or more sequences.

[0077]Disclosed herein are non-naturally occurring microbial organisms capable of producing adipate, 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid. For example, an adipate pathway can be a reverse adipate degradation pathway (see Examples I and II). For example, a non-naturally occurring microbial organism can have an adipate pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding an adipate pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce adipate, the adipate pathway including succinyl-CoA:acetyl-CoA acyl transferase, 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase, 3-hydroxyadipyl-CoA dehydratase, 5-carboxy-2-pentenoyl-CoA reductase, and adipyl-CoA synthetase or phosphotransadipylase/adipate kinase or adipyl-CoA:acetyl-CoA transferase or adipyl-CoA hydrolase. In addition, an adipate pathway can be through a 3-oxoadipate pathway (see Examples III and IV). A non-naturally occurring microbial organism can have an adipate pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding an adipate pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce adipate, the adipate pathway including succinyl-CoA:acetyl-CoA acyl transferase, 3-oxoadipyl-CoA transferase, 3-oxoadipate reductase, 3-hydroxyadipate dehydratase, and 2-enoate reductase.

[0078]Additionally, a non-naturally occurring microbial organism can have a 6-aminocaproic acid pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a 6-aminocaproic acid pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce 6-aminocaproic acid, the 6-aminocaproic acid pathway including CoA-dependent aldehyde dehydrogenase and transaminase (see Examples VIII and IX). Alternatively, 6-aminocaproate dehydrogenase can be used to convert adipate semialdehyde to form 6-aminocaproate (see FIG. 8). A non-naturally occurring microbial organism can also have a caprolactam pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a caprolactam pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce caprolactam, the caprolactam pathway including CoA-dependent aldehyde dehydrogenase, transaminase or 6-aminocaproate dehydrogenase, and amidohydrolase (see Examples VIII and IX).

[0079]As disclosed herein, a 6-aminocaproic acid or caprolactam producing microbial organism can produce 6-aminocaproic acid and/or caprolactam from an adipyl-CoA precursor (see FIG. 8 and Examples VIII and IX). Therefore, it is understood that a 6-aminocaproic acid or caprolactam producing microbial organism can further include a pathway to produce adipyl-CoA. For example an adipyl-CoA pathway can include the enzymes of FIG. 2 that utilize succinyl-CoA and acetyl-CoA as precursors through the production of adipyl-CoA, that is, lacking an enzyme for the final step of converting adipyl-CoA to adipate. Thus, one exemplary adipyl-CoA pathway can include succinyl-CoA:acetyl-CoA acyl transferase, 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase, 3-hydroxyadipyl-CoA dehydratase and 5-carboxy-2-pentenoyl-CoA reductase.

[0080]In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, an adipate degradation pathway includes the step of converting adipate to adipyl-CoA by an adipate CoA ligase. Therefore, an adipyl-CoA pathway can be an adipate pathway that further includes an enzyme activity that converts adipate to adipyl-CoA, including, for example, adipate-CoA ligase activity as in the first step of FIG. 1 or any of the enzymes in the final step of FIG. 2 carried out in the reverse direction, for example, any of adipyl-CoA synthetase (also referred to as adipate Co-A ligase), phosphotransadipylase/adipate kinase, adipyl-CoA:acetyl-CoA transferase or adipyl-CoA hydrolase. An enzyme having adipate to adipyl-CoA activity can be an endogenous activity or can be provided as an exogenous nucleic acid encoding the enzyme, as disclosed herein. Thus, it is understood that any adipate pathway can be utilized with an adipate to adipyl-CoA enzymatic activity to generate an adipyl-CoA pathway. Such a pathway can be included in a 6-aminocaproic acid or caprolactam producing microbial organism to provide an adipyl-CoA precursor for 6-aminocaproic acid and/or caprolactam production.

[0081]An additional exemplary adipate pathway utilizes alpha-ketoadipate as a precursor (see FIG. 6 and Example VI). For example, a non-naturally occurring microbial organism can have an adipate pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding an adipate pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce adipate, the adipate pathway including homocitrate synthase, homoaconitase, homoisocitrate dehydrogenase, 2-ketoadipate reductase, alpha-hydroxyadipate dehydratase and oxidoreductase. A further exemplary adipate pathway utilizes a lysine dedgradation pathway (see FIG. 7 and Example VII). Another non-naturally occurring microbial organism can have an adipate pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding an adipate pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce adipate, the adipate pathway including carbon nitrogen lyase, oxidoreductase, transaminase and oxidoreductase.

[0082]Yet another exemplary adipate pathway utilizes alpha-ketoadipate as a precursor (see FIG. 9 and Examples X and XI). Thus, a non-naturally occurring microbial organism can have an adipate pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding an adipate pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce adipate, the adipate pathway including alpha-ketoadipyl-CoA synthetase, phosphotransketoadipylase/alpha-ketoadipate kinase or alpha-ketoadipyl-CoA:acetyl-CoA transferase; 2-hydroxyadipyl-CoA dehydrogenase; 2-hydroxyadipyl-CoA dehydratase; 5-carboxy-2-pentenoyl-CoA reductase; and adipyl-CoA synthetase, phosphotransadipylase/adipate kinase, adipyl-CoA:acetyl-CoA transferase or adipyl-CoA hydrolase. Additionally, a non-naturally occurring microbial organism can have an adipate pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding an adipate pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce adipate, the adipate pathway including 2-hydroxyadipate dehydrogenase; 2-hydroxyadipyl-CoA synthetase, phosphotranshydroxyadipylase/2-hydroxyadipate kinase or 2-hydroxyadipyl-CoA:acetyl-CoA transferase; 2-hydroxyadipyl-CoA dehydratase; 5-carboxy-2-pentenoyl-CoA reductase; and adipyl-CoA synthetase, phosphotransadipylase/adipate kinase, adipyl-CoA:acetyl-CoA transferase or adipyl-CoA hydrolase.

[0083]As disclosed herein, the invention provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism, including a microbial organism having a 6-aminocaproic acid pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a 6-aminocaproic acid pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce 6-aminocaproic acid, the 6-aminocaproic acid pathway including 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA thiolase; 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA reductase; 3-hydroxy-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA dehydratase; 6-aminohex-2-enoyl-CoA reductase; and 6-aminocaproyl-CoA/acyl-CoA transferase, 6-aminocaproyl-CoA synthase, or 6-aminocaproyl-CoA hydrolase (see Examples XII and XIII; steps A/B/C/D/K/L/M of FIG. 11). The invention additionally provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism, including a microbial organism having a 6-aminocaproic acid pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a 6-aminocaproic acid pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce 6-aminocaproic acid, the 6-aminocaproic acid pathway including 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA thiolase; 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA/acyl-CoA transferase, 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA synthase, or 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA hydrolase; 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoate reductase; 3-hydroxy-6-aminohexanoate dehydratase; and 6-aminohex-2-enoate reductase (see Examples XII and XIV; steps A/E/F/G/H/I/J of FIG. 11).

[0084]In another embodiment, the invention provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism, including a microbial organism having a caprolactam pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a caprolactam pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce caprolactam, the caprolactam pathway including 6-aminocaproyl-CoA/acyl-CoA transferase or 6-aminocaproyl-CoA synthase (see Examples XII and XV; steps K/L of FIG. 11). Such a non-naturally occurring microbial organism containing a caprolactam pathway can further comprise a 6-aminocaproic acid pathway (see FIG. 11). Exemplary 6-aminocaproic acid pathways include the 6-aminocaproic acid pathway including CoA-dependent aldehyde dehydrogenase; and transaminase or 6-aminocaproate dehydrogenase or the 6-aminocaproic acid pathway including 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA thiolase; 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA/acyl-CoA transferase, 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA synthase, or 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA hydrolase; 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoate reductase; 3-hydroxy-6-aminohexanoate dehydratase; and 6-aminohex-2-enoate reductase (steps A/E/F/G/H/I/J of FIG. 11). It is understood that these or other exemplary 6-aminocaproic acid pathways disclosed herein can additionally be included in a microbial organism having a caprolactam pathway, if desired. The invention also provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism, including a microbial organism having a hexamethylenediamine pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a hexamethylenediamine pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce hexamethylenediamine, the hexamethylenediamine pathway including 6-aminocaproyl-CoA/acyl-CoA transferase or 6-aminocaproyl-CoA synthase; 6-aminocaproyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming); and hexamethylenediamine transaminase or hexamethylenediamine dehydrogenase (see Example XII and XVI; steps K/L/N/O/P of FIG. 11). Such a non-naturally occurring microbial organism containing a hexamethylenediamine pathway can further comprise a 6-aminocaproic acid pathway (see FIG. 11). Exemplary 6-aminocaproic acid pathways include the 6-aminocaproic acid pathway including CoA-dependent aldehyde dehydrogenase; and transaminase or 6-aminocaproate dehydrogenase or the 6-aminocaproic acid pathway including 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA thiolase; 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA/acyl-CoA transferase, 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA synthase, or 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA hydrolase; 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoate reductase; 3-hydroxy-6-aminohexanoate dehydratase; and 6-aminohex-2-enoate reductase (steps A/E/F/G/H/I/J of FIG. 11). It is understood that these or other exemplary 6-aminocaproic acid pathways disclosed herein can additionally be included in a microbial organism having a hexamethylenediamine pathway, if desired.

[0085]In yet another embodiment, the invention provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a caprolactam pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a caprolactam pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce caprolactam, the caprolactam pathway including 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA thiolase; 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA reductase; 3-hydroxy-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA dehydratase; and 6-aminohex-2-enoyl-CoA reductase (see Examples XII and XVII; steps A/B/C/D of FIG. 11). Also provided is a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a hexamethylenediamine pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a hexamethylenediamine pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce hexamethylenediamine, the hexamethylenediamine pathway including 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA thiolase; 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA reductase; 3-hydroxy-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA dehydratase; 6-aminohex-2-enoyl-CoA reductase; 6-aminocaproyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming); and hexamethylenediamine transaminase or hexamethylenediamine dehydrogenase (see Examples XII and XVIII; steps A/B/C/D/N/O/P of FIG. 11).

[0086]In yet another embodiment, the invention provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a 6-aminocaproic acid (6-ACA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a 6-ACA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce 6-ACA, the 6-ACA pathway including a 4-hydroxy-2-oxoheptane-1,7-dioate (HODH) aldolase, a 2-oxohept-4-ene-1,7-dioate (OHED) hydratase, a 2-oxohept-4-ene-1,7-dioate (OHED) reductase, a 2-oxoheptane-1,7-dioate (2-OHD) decarboxylase, an adipate semialdehyde aminotransferase, an adipate semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating), a 2-oxohept-4-ene-1,7-dioate (OHED) decarboxylase, a 6-oxohex-4-enoate (6-OHE) reductase, a 2-oxoheptane-1,7-dioate (2-OHD) aminotransferase, a 2-oxoheptane-1,7-dioate (2-OHD) oxidoreductase (aminating), a 2-aminoheptane-1,7-dioate (2-AHD) decarboxylase, a 2-oxohept-4-ene-1,7-dioate (OHED) aminotransferase, a 2-oxohept-4-ene-1,7-dioate (OHED) oxidoreductase (aminating), a 2-aminohept-4-ene-1,7-dioate (2-AHE) reductase, a 4-hydroxy-2-oxoheptane-1,7-dioate (HODH) formate-lyase, a 4-hydroxy-2-oxoheptane-1,7-dioate (HODH) dehydrogenase, a 3-hydroxyadipyl-CoA dehydratase, a 2,3-dehydroadipyl-CoA reductase, a adipyl-CoA dehydrogenase, a 2-oxohept-4-ene-1,7-dioate (OHED) formate-lyase, a 2-oxohept-4-ene-1,7-dioate (OHED) dehydrogenase, a 2-oxoheptane-1,7-dioate (2-OHD) formate-lyase, a 2-oxoheptane-1,7-dioate (2-OHD) dehydrogenase, or a pyruvate formate-lyase activating enzyme (see Examples XIX and XXI; steps A-Q of FIG. 12). In a further aspect, the 6-ACA pathway includes a succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase, an alpha-ketoglutarate decarboxylase or a phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) carboxykinase.

[0087]The invention additionally provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a 6-aminocaproic acid (6-ACA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a 6-ACA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce 6-ACA, the 6-ACA pathway including an HODH aldolase; an OHED hydratase; an OHED reductase; a 2-OHD decarboxylase; or an adipate semialdehyde aminotransferase or an adipate semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating) (see Examples XIX and XXI; steps A/B/C/D/E of FIG. 12). In a further aspect, the 6-ACA pathway includes a succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase, an alpha-ketoglutarate decarboxylase or a phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) carboxykinase. In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding 6-ACA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes an HODH aldolase; an OHED hydratase; an OHED reductase; a 2-OHD decarboxylase; and an adipate semialdehyde aminotransferase or an adipate semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating).

[0088]The invention additionally provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a 6-aminocaproic acid (6-ACA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a 6-ACA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce 6-ACA, the 6-ACA pathway including an HODH aldolase; an OHED hydratase; an OHED decarboxylase; a 6-OHE reductase; or an adipate semialdehyde aminotransferase or an adipate semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating) (see Examples XIX and XXI; steps A/B/F/G/E of FIG. 12). In a further aspect, the 6-ACA pathway includes a succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase, an alpha-ketoglutarate decarboxylase or a phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) carboxykinase. In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding 6-ACA pathway enzymes, where the set encode an HODH aldolase; an OHED hydratase; an OHED decarboxylase; a 6-OHE reductase; and an adipate semialdehyde aminotransferase or an adipate semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating).

[0089]The invention additionally provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a 6-aminocaproic acid (6-ACA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a 6-ACA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce 6-ACA, the 6-ACA pathway including an HODH aldolase; an OHED hydratase; an OHED aminotransferase or an OHED oxidoreductase (aminating); a 2-AHE reductase; or a 2-AHD decarboxylase (see Examples XIX and XXI; steps A/B/J/D/I of FIG. 12). In a further aspect, the 6-ACA pathway includes a succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase, an alpha-ketoglutarate decarboxylase or a phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) carboxykinase. In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding 6-ACA pathway enzymes, where the set encode an HODH aldolase; an OHED hydratase; an OHED aminotransferase or an OHED oxidoreductase (aminating); a 2-AHE reductase; and a 2-AHD decarboxylase.

[0090]The invention additionally provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a 6-aminocaproic acid (6-ACA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a 6-ACA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce 6-ACA, the 6-ACA pathway including an HODH aldolase; an OHED hydratase; an OHED reductase; a 2-OHD aminotransferase or a 2-OHD oxidoreductase (aminating); or a 2-AHD decarboxylase (see Examples XIX and XXI; steps A/B/C/H/I of FIG. 12). In a further aspect, the 6-ACA pathway includes a succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase, an alpha-ketoglutarate decarboxylase or a phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) carboxykinase. In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding 6-ACA pathway enzymes, where the set encode an HODH aldolase; an OHED hydratase; an OHED reductase; a 2-OHD aminotransferase or a 2-OHD oxidoreductase (aminating); and a 2-AHD decarboxylase.

[0091]The invention additionally provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a 6-aminocaproic acid (6-ACA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a 6-ACA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce 6-ACA, the 6-ACA pathway including an HODH aldolase; an HODH formate-lyase and a pyruvate formate-lyase activating enzyme or an HODH dehydrogenase; a 3-hydroxyadipyl-CoA dehydratase; a 2,3-dehydroadipyl-CoA reductase; an adipyl-CoA dehydrogenase; or an adipate semialdehyde aminotransferase or an adipate semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating) (see Examples XIX and XXI; steps A/L/M/N/O/E of FIG. 12). In a further aspect, the 6-ACA pathway includes a succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase, an alpha-ketoglutarate decarboxylase or a phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) carboxykinase. In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding 6-ACA pathway enzymes, where the set encode an HODH aldolase; an HODH formate-lyase and a pyruvate formate-lyase activating enzyme or an HODH dehydrogenase; a 3-hydroxyadipyl-CoA dehydratase; a 2,3-dehydroadipyl-CoA reductase; an adipyl-CoA dehydrogenase; and an adipate semialdehyde aminotransferase or an adipate semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating).

[0092]The invention additionally provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a 6-aminocaproic acid (6-ACA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a 6-ACA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce 6-ACA, the 6-ACA pathway including an HODH aldolase; an OHED hydratase; an OHED formate-lyase and a pyruvate formate-lyase activating enzyme or OHED dehydrogenase; a 2,3-dehydroadipyl-CoA reductase; an adipyl-CoA dehydrogenase; or an adipate semialdehyde aminotransferase or an adipate semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating) (see Examples XIX and XXI; steps A/B/P/N/O/E of FIG. 12). In a further aspect, the 6-ACA pathway includes a succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase, an alpha-ketoglutarate decarboxylase or a phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) carboxykinase. In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding 6-ACA pathway enzymes, where the set encode an HODH aldolase; an OHED hydratase; an OHED formate-lyase and a pyruvate formate-lyase activating enzyme or OHED dehydrogenase; a 2,3-dehydroadipyl-CoA reductase; an adipyl-CoA dehydrogenase; and an adipate semialdehyde aminotransferase or an adipate semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating).

[0093]The invention additionally provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a 6-aminocaproic acid (6-ACA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a 6-ACA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce 6-ACA, the 6-ACA pathway including an HODH aldolase; an OHED hydratase; an OHED reductase; a 2-OHD formate-lyase and a pyruvate formate-lyase activating enzyme or a 2-OHD dehydrogenase; an adipyl-CoA dehydrogenase; or an adipate semialdehyde aminotransferase or an adipate semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating) (see Examples XIX and XXI; steps A/B/C/Q/O/E of FIG. 12). In a further aspect, the 6-ACA pathway includes a succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase, an alpha-ketoglutarate decarboxylase or a phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) carboxykinase. In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding 6-ACA pathway enzymes, where the set encode an HODH aldolase; an OHED hydratase; an OHED reductase; a 2-OHD formate-lyase and a pyruvate formate-lyase activating enzyme or a 2-OHD dehydrogenase; an adipyl-CoA dehydrogenase; and an adipate semialdehyde aminotransferase or an adipate semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating).The invention additionally provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a 6-aminocaproic acid (6-ACA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a 6-ACA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce 6-ACA, the 6-ACA pathway including a glutamyl-CoA transferase, a glutamyl-CoA ligase, a beta-ketothiolase, an 3-oxo-6-aminopimeloyl-CoA oxidoreductase, a 3-hydroxy-6-aminopimeloyl-CoA dehydratase, a 6-amino-7-carboxyhept-2-enoyl-CoA reductase, a 6-aminopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming), or a 2-aminopimelate decarboxylase (see Examples XXV and XXVI; steps A/B/C/D/E/I/J of FIG. 20). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding 6-ACA pathway enzymes, where the set encode a glutamyl-CoA transferase or glutamyl-CoA ligase; a beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxo-6-aminopimeloyl-CoA oxidoreductase; a 3-hydroxy-6-aminopimeloyl-CoA dehydratase; a 6-amino-7-carboxyhept-2-enoyl-CoA reductase; 6-aminopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming); and a 2-aminopimelate decarboxylase.

[0094]The invention additionally provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a 6-aminocaproic acid (6-ACA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a 6-ACA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce 6-ACA, the 6-ACA pathway including a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase, a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase, 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase, a 3-aminopimelate 2,3-aminomutase, or a 2-aminopimelate decarboxylase (see Examples XXV and XXVI; steps A/B/J/T/AA of FIG. 21). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding 6-ACA pathway enzymes, where the set encode a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase or 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-aminopimelate 2,3-aminomutase; and a 2-aminopimelate decarboxylase. The invention additionally provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a 6-aminocaproic acid (6-ACA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a 6-ACA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce 6-ACA, the 6-ACA pathway including a homolysine 2-monooxygenase (see Examples XXV and XXVI; steps A of FIG. 23). In a further aspect, the 6-ACA pathway includes hydrolysis of the 6-aminohexanamide product by a dilute acid or base to convert 6-aminohexanamide to 6-aminocaproate (see Examples XXV and XXVI; step B of FIG. 23).

[0095]The invention additionally provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a 6-aminocaproic acid (6-ACA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a 6-ACA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce 6-ACA, the 6-ACA pathway including an adipate reductase, an adipate kinase or an adipylphosphate reductase (see Example XXVIII; steps X/Y/Z of FIG. 25 and Example XXXI). In a further aspect, the 6-ACA pathway includes an adipate reductase. In another further aspect, the G-ACA pathway includes an adipate kinase and an adipylphosphate reductase. In still another aspect, the microbial organism having the 6-aminocaproic acid (6-ACA) pathway above further comprises an adipate pathway, a caprolactam pathway and/or a hexamethylenediamine pathway described here (see Example)(XVIII; steps A-W of FIG. 25).

[0096]In one embodiment, the invention provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a 6-aminocaproic acid (6-ACA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a 6-ACA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce 6-ACA, the 6-ACA pathway including a 2-amino-7-oxosubarate keto-acid decarboxylase, a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate decarboxylase, a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate oxidoreductase, a 2-aminopimelate decarboxylase, a 6-aminohexanal oxidoreductase, a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate decarboxylase, or a 2-amino-7-oxosubarate amino acid decarboxylase (see Examples XXV and XXVI; steps A/B/D/E/F/G/I of FIG. 26). In a further aspect, the microbial organism has a 2-amino-7-oxosubarate pathway having at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a 2-amino-7-oxosubarate pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce 2-amino-7-oxosubarate, the 2-amino-7-oxosubarate pathway including a 2-amino-5-hydroxy-7-oxosubarate aldolase, a 2-amino-5-hydroxy-7-oxosubarate dehydratase, or a 2-amino-5-ene-7-oxosubarate reductase (see Examples XXV and XXVI; steps A/B/C of FIG. 27).

[0097]In another embodiment of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding 6-ACA pathway enzymes, where the set encodes a 2-amino-7-oxosubarate keto-acid decarboxylase; a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate oxidoreductase; and a 2-aminopimelate decarboxylase (see Example XXV; steps A/D/E of FIG. 26). In yet another embodiment of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding 6-ACA pathway enzymes, where the set encodes a 2-amino-7-oxosubarate keto-acid decarboxylase; a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate decarboxylase; and a 6-aminohexanal oxidoreductase (see Example XXV; steps A/B/F of FIG. 26). In still yet another embodiment of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding 6-ACA pathway enzymes, where the set encodes a 2-amino-7-oxosubarate amino acid decarboxylase; a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate decarboxylase; and a 6-aminohexanal oxidoreductase (see Example XXV; steps I/G/F of FIG. 26). In a further aspect of each of the above embodiments, the microbial organism has a 2-amino-7-oxosubarate pathway having a second set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding 2-amino-7-oxosubarate pathway enzymes expressed in a sufficient amount to produce 2-amino-7-oxosubarate, the 2-amino-7-oxosubarate pathway including a 2-amino-5-hydroxy-7-oxosubarate aldolase; a 2-amino-5-hydroxy-7-oxosubarate dehydratase; and a 2-amino-5-ene-7-oxosubarate reductase (see Examples XXV and XXVI; steps A/B/C of FIG. 27).

[0098]In yet another embodiment, the invention provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a 6-aminocaproate kinase, an [(6-aminohexanoyl)oxy]phosphonate (6-AHOP) oxidoreductase, a 6-aminocaproic semialdehyde aminotransferase, a 6-aminocaproic semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating), a 6-aminocaproate N-acetyltransferase, a 6-acetamidohexanoate kinase, an [(6-acetamidohexanoyl)oxy]phosphonate (6-AAHOP) oxidoreductase, a 6-acetamidohexanal aminotransferase, a 6-acetamidohexanal oxidoreductase (aminating), a 6-acetamidohexanamine N-acetyltransferase, a 6-acetamidohexanamine hydrolase (amide), a 6-acetamidohexanoate CoA transferase, a 6-acetamidohexanoate CoA ligase, a 6-acetamidohexanoyl-CoA oxidoreductase, a [(6-acetamidohexanoyl)oxy]phosphonate (6-AAHOP) acyltransferase, a [(6-aminohexanoyl)oxy]phosphonate (6-AHOP) acyltransferase, a 6-aminocaproate CoA transferase and a 6-aminocaproate CoA ligase (see Examples XX and XXI; steps A-N of FIG. 13).

[0099]The invention additionally provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a 6-aminocaproate kinase; a 6-AHOP oxidoreductase; or a 6-aminocaproic semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating) or a 6-aminocaproic acid semialdehyde aminotransferase (see Examples XX and XXI; steps A/B/C of FIG. 13). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a 6-aminocaproate kinase; a 6-AHOP oxidoreductase; and a 6-aminocaproic semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating) or a 6-aminocaproic acid semialdehyde aminotransferase.

[0100]The invention additionally provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a 6-aminocaproate kinase; a 6-AHOP acyltransferase; a 6-aminocaproyl-CoA oxidoreductase; or a 6-aminocaproic semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating) or a 6-aminocaproic acid semialdehyde aminotransferase (see Examples XX and XXI; steps A/L/N/C of FIG. 13). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a 6-aminocaproate kinase; a 6-AHOP acyltransferase; a 6-aminocaproyl-CoA oxidoreductase; and a 6-aminocaproic semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating) or a 6-aminocaproic acid semialdehyde aminotransferase.

[0101]The invention additionally provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a 6-aminocaproate CoA transferase or a 6-aminocaproate CoA ligase; a 6-aminocaproyl-CoA oxidoreductase; or a 6-aminocaproic semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating) or a 6-aminocaproic acid semialdehyde aminotransferase (see Examples XX and XXI; steps M/N/C of FIG. 13). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a 6-aminocaproate CoA transferase or a 6-aminocaproate CoA ligase; a 6-aminocaproyl-CoA oxidoreductase; and a 6-aminocaproic semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating) or a 6-aminocaproic acid semialdehyde aminotransferase.

[0102]The invention additionally provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a 6-aminocaproate N-acetyltransferase; a 6-acetamidohexanoate kinase; a 6-AAHOP oxidoreductase; a 6-acetamidohexanal aminotransferase or a 6-acetamidohexanal oxidoreductase (aminating); or a 6-acetamidohexanamine N-acetyltransferase or a 6-acetamidohexanamine hydrolase (amide) (see Examples XX and XXI; steps D/E/F/G/H of FIG. 13). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a 6-aminocaproate N-acetyltransferase; a 6-acetamidohexanoate kinase; a 6-AAHOP oxidoreductase; a 6-acetamidohexanal aminotransferase or a 6-acetamidohexanal oxidoreductase (aminating); and a 6-acetamidohexanamine N-acetyltransferase or a 6-acetamidohexanamine hydrolase (amide).

[0103]The invention additionally provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a 6-aminocaproate N-acetyltransferase; a 6-acetamidohexanoate CoA transferase or a 6-acetamidohexanoate CoA ligase; a 6-acetamidohexanoyl-CoA oxidoreductase; a 6-acetamidohexanal aminotransferase or a 6-acetamidohexanal oxidoreductase (aminating); or a 6-acetamidohexanamine N-acetyltransferase or a 6-acetamidohexanamine hydrolase (amide) (see Examples XX and XXI; steps D/I/J/G/H of FIG. 13). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a 6-aminocaproate N-acetyltransferase; a 6-acetamidohexanoate CoA transferase or a 6-acetamidohexanoate CoA ligase; a 6-acetamidohexanoyl-CoA oxidoreductase; a 6-acetamidohexanal aminotransferase or a 6-acetamidohexanal oxidoreductase (aminating); and a 6-acetamidohexanamine N-acetyltransferase or a 6-acetamidohexanamine hydrolase (amide).The invention additionally provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a 6-aminocaproate N-acetyltransferase; a 6-acetamidohexanoate kinase; a 6-AAHOP oxidoreductase; a 6-acetamidohexanal aminotransferase or a 6-acetamidohexanal oxidoreductase (aminating); or a 6-acetamidohexanamine N-acetyltransferase or a 6-acetamidohexanamine hydrolase (amide) (see Examples XX and XXI; steps D/E/K/J/G of FIG. 13). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a 6-aminocaproate N-acetyltransferase; a 6-acetamidohexanoate kinase; a 6-AAHOP oxidoreductase; a 6-acetamidohexanal aminotransferase or a 6-acetamidohexanal oxidoreductase (aminating); and a 6-acetamidohexanamine N-acetyltransferase or a 6-acetamidohexanamine hydrolase (amide).The invention additionally provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a glutamyl-CoA transferase, a glutamyl-CoA ligase, a beta-ketothiolase, an 3-oxo-6-aminopimeloyl-CoA oxidoreductase, a 3-hydroxy-6-aminopimeloyl-CoA dehydratase, a 6-amino-7-carboxyhept-2-enoyl-CoA reductase, a 6-aminopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming), a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminotransferase, a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase, or a homolysine decarboxylase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; steps A-H of FIG. 20). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a glutamyl-CoA transferase or ligase; a beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxo-6-aminopimeloyl-CoA oxidoreductase; a 3-hydroxy-6-aminopimeloyl-CoA dehydratase; a 6-amino-7-carboxyhept-2-enoyl-CoA reductase; a 6-aminopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming); a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminotransferase or aminating oxidoreductase; and a homolysine decarboxylase.

[0104]The invention additionally provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase, a 3-oxopimelate reductase, a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal aminotransferase, a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal aminating oxidoreductase, a 3-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate 3-aminotransferase, a 3-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate 3-aminating oxidoreductase, a 3-oxopimelate kinase, a 5-oxopimeloylphosphonate reductase, a 3-oxopimelate CoA transferase, a 3-oxopimelate ligase, a 5-oxopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming), a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase, a 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase, a 3-aminopimelate CoA transferase, a 3-aminopimelate ligase, a 5-aminopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming), a 3-aminopimelate kinase, a 5-aminopimeloylphosphonate reductase, a 3-aminopimelate reductase, a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase, a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase, a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase, a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase, a homolysine decarboxylase, a 3-aminopimelate 2,3-aminomutase, a 2-aminopimelate kinase, a 2-aminopimelate CoA transferase, a 2-aminopimelate CoA ligase, a 2-aminopimelate reductase, a 6-aminopimeloylphosphonate reductase, a 6-aminopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming), a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase or a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; FIG. 21).

[0105]The invention additionally provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase, a 3-oxopimelate reductase, a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 7-aminotransferase, a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 7-aminating oxidoreductase, a 3-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate 3-aminotransferase, a 3-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate 3-aminating oxidoreductase, a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase, or a homolysine decarboxylase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; steps A/B/C/D/E/R/S of FIG. 21). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate reductase; a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 7-aminotransferase or a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 7-aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate 3-aminotransferase or a 3-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate 3-aminating oxidoreductase; a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase; and a homolysine decarboxylase.

[0106]The invention additionally provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase, a 3-oxopimelate kinase, a 5-oxopimeloylphosphonate reductase, a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 7-aminotransferase, a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 7-aminating oxidoreductase, a 3-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate 3-aminotransferase, a 3-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate 3-aminating oxidoreductase, a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase, or a homolysine decarboxylase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; steps A/B/F/G/D/E/R/S of FIG. 21). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate kinase; a 5-oxopimeloylphosphonate reductase; a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 7-aminotransferase or a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 7-aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate 3-aminotransferase or a 3-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate 3-aminating oxidoreductase; a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase; and a homolysine decarboxylase.

[0107]The invention additionally provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase, a 3-oxopimelate CoA transferase, 3-oxopimelate CoA ligase, a 5-oxopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming), a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 7-aminotransferase, 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 7-aminating oxidoreductase, a 3-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate 3-aminotransferase, a 3-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate 3-aminating oxidoreductase, a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase, or a homolysine decarboxylase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; steps A/B/H/I/D/E/R/S of FIG. 21). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate CoA transferase or 3-oxopimelate CoA ligase; a 5-oxopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming); a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 7-aminotransferase or 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 7-aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate 3-aminotransferase or a 3-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate 3-aminating oxidoreductase; a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase; and a homolysine decarboxylase.

[0108]The invention additionally provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase, a 3-oxopimelate reductase, a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 3-aminotransferase, a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 3-aminating oxidoreductase, a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase, a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate l-aminating oxidoreductase, a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase, or a homolysine decarboxylase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; steps A/B/C/AB/Z/R/S of FIG. 21). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate reductase; a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 3-aminotransferase or a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 3-aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase or a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminating oxidoreductase; a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase; and a homolysine decarboxylase.

[0109]The invention additionally provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase, 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase, a 3-oxopimelate kinase, a 5-oxopimeloylphosphonate reductase, a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 3-aminotransferase, a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 3-aminating oxidoreductase, a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase, a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminating oxidoreductase, a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase, or a homolysine decarboxylase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; steps A/B/H/I/AB/Z/R/S of FIG. 21). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate kinase; a 5-oxopimeloylphosphonate reductase; a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 3-aminotransferase or a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 3-aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase or a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminating oxidoreductase; a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase; and a homolysine decarboxylase.

[0110]The invention additionally provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase, a 3-oxopimelate CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimelate CoA ligase, a 5-oxopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming), a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 3-aminotransferase, a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 3-aminating oxidoreductase, a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase, 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminating oxidoreductase, a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase, or a homolysine decarboxylase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; steps A/B/F/G/AB/Z/R/S of FIG. 21). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimelate CoA ligase; a 5-oxopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming); a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 3-aminotransferase or a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 3-aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase or 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminating oxidoreductase; a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase; and a homolysine decarboxylase.

[0111]The invention additionally provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase, a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase or a 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase, a 3-aminopimelate reductase, a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase, a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase, a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase, or a homolysine decarboxylase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; steps A/B//J/O/P/Q/S of FIG. 21). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase or a 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-aminopimelate reductase; a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase; a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase or a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase; and a homolysine decarboxylase.

[0112]The invention additionally provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase, a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase or a 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase, a 3-aminopimelate kinase, a 5-aminopimeloylphosphonate reductase, a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase, a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase, a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase, or a homolysine decarboxylase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; steps A/B/J/M/N/P/Q/S of FIG. 21). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase or a 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-aminopimelate kinase; a 5-aminopimeloylphosphonate reductase; a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase; a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase or a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase; and a homolysine decarboxylase.

[0113]The invention additionally provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase, a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase, a 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase, a 3-aminopimelate CoA transferase, a 3-aminopimelate CoA ligase, a 5-aminopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming), a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase, a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase, 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase, or a homolysine decarboxylase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; steps A/B/J/K/L/P/Q/S of FIG. 21). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase or a 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-aminopimelate CoA transferase or a 3-aminopimelate CoA ligase; a 5-aminopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming); a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase; a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase or 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase; and a homolysine decarboxylase.

[0114]The invention additionally provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase, a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase, 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase, a 3-aminopimelate reductase, a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase, 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminating oxidoreductase, a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase, or a homolysine decarboxylase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; steps A/B/J/O/Z/R/S of FIG. 21). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase or 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-aminopimelate reductase; a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase or 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate l-aminating oxidoreductase; a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase; and a homolysine decarboxylase.

[0115]The invention additionally provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase, a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase, a 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase, a 3-aminopimelate CoA transferase, a 3-aminopimelate CoA ligase, a 5-aminopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming), a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase, 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase, a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase, or a homolysine decarboxylase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; steps A/B/J/K/L/Z/R/S of FIG. 21). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase or a 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-aminopimelate CoA transferase or a 3-aminopimelate CoA ligase; a 5-aminopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming); a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase or 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase; a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase; and a homolysine decarboxylase.

[0116]The invention additionally provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase, a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase, a 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase, a 3-aminopimelate kinase, a 5-aminopimeloylphosphonate reductase, a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase, a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase, a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase, or a homolysine decarboxylase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; steps A/B/J/M/N/Z/R/S of FIG. 21). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase or a 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-aminopimelate kinase; a 5-aminopimeloylphosphonate reductase; a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase or a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase; a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase; and a homolysine decarboxylase.

[0117]The invention additionally provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase, a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase, 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase, a 3-aminopimelate 2,3-aminomutase, a 2-aminopimelate reductase, a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase, a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase, or a homolysine decarboxylase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; steps A/B/J/T/W/Q/S of FIG. 21). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase or 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-aminopimelate 2,3-aminomutase; a 2-aminopimelate reductase; a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase or a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase; and a homolysine decarboxylase.

[0118]The invention additionally provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase, a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase, a 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase, a 3-aminopimelate 2,3-aminomutase, a 2-aminopimelate kinase, a 6-aminopimeloylphosphonate reductase, a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase, a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase, or a homolysine decarboxylase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; steps A/B/J/T/U/X/Q/S of FIG. 21). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase or a 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-aminopimelate 2,3-aminomutase; a 2-aminopimelate kinase; a 6-aminopimeloylphosphonate reductase; a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase or a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase; and a homolysine decarboxylase.

[0119]The invention additionally provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase, a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase, a 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase, a 3-aminopimelate 2,3-aminomutase, a 2-aminopimelate CoA transferase, 2-aminopimelate CoA ligase, a 6-aminopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming), a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase, 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase, or a homolysine decarboxylase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; steps A/B/J/T/V/Y/Q/S of FIG. 21). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase or a 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-aminopimelate 2,3-aminomutase; a 2-aminopimelate CoA transferase or 2-aminopimelate CoA ligase; a 6-aminopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming); a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase or 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase; and a homolysine decarboxylase.

[0120]The invention additionally provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a 2-oxo-4-hydroxy-7-aminoheptanoate aldolase, a 2-oxo-4-hydroxy-7-aminoheptanoate dehydratase, a 2-oxo-7-aminohept-3-enoate reductase, a 2-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate aminotransferase, a 2-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate aminotransferase aminating oxidoreductase, a homolysine decarboxylase, a 2-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate decarboxylase, a 6-aminohexanal aminotransferase or a 6-aminohexanal aminating oxidoreductase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; steps A-G of FIG. 22). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a 2-oxo-4-hydroxy-7-aminoheptanoate aldolase; a 2-oxo-4-hydroxy-7-aminoheptanoate dehydratase; a 2-oxo-7-aminohept-3-enoate reductase; a 2-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate aminotransferase or a 2-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase; and a homolysine decarboxylase. In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a 2-oxo-4-hydroxy-7-aminoheptanoate aldolase; a 2-oxo-4-hydroxy-7-aminoheptanoate dehydratase; a 2-oxo-7-aminohept-3-enoate reductase; a 2-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate decarboxylase; and a 6-aminohexanal aminotransferase or a 6-aminohexanal aminating oxidoreductase.

[0121]The invention additionally provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a 6-aminocaproate reductase, a 6-aminocaproic semialdehyde aminotransferase, a 6-aminocaproic semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating), 6-aminocaproate N-acetyltransferase, a 6-acetamidohexanoate reductase, 6-acetamidohexanal aminotransferase, 6-acetamidohexanal oxidoreductase (aminating), 6-acetamidohexanamine N-acetyltransferase or acetamidohexanamine hydrolase (amide) (see Example XXVII; steps O/C or D/P/G/H of FIG. 24 and Example XXXI). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a 6-aminocaproate reductase; and a 6-aminocaproic semialdehyde aminotransferase or a 6-aminocaproic semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes 6-aminocaproate N-acetyltransferase; 6-acetamidohexanoate reductase; 6-acetamidohexanal aminotransferase or 6-acetamidohexanal oxidoreductase (aminating); and 6-acetamidohexanamine N-acetyltransferase or 6-acetamidohexanamine hydrolase (amide).The invention additionally provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a 2-amino-7-oxosubarate keto-acid decarboxylase, a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate decarboxylase, a 6-aminohexanal aminating oxidoreductase, a 6-aminohexanal aminotransferase, a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate decarboxylase, a homolysine decarboxylase, a 2-amino-7-oxosubarate amino acid decarboxylase, a 2-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase, a 2-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate aminotransferase, a 2-amino-7-oxosubarate aminating oxidoreductase, a 2-amino-7-oxosubarate aminotransferase, a 2,7-diaminosubarate decarboxylase, a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminotransferase or a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; Steps A/B/C/G/H/I/J/K/L/M of FIG. 26). In a further aspect, the microbial organism has a 2-amino-7-oxosubarate pathway having at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a 2-amino-7-oxosubarate pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce 2-amino-7-oxosubarate, the 2-amino-7-oxosubarate pathway including a 2-amino-5-hydroxy-7-oxosubarate aldolase, a 2-amino-5-hydroxy-7-oxosubarate dehydratase, or a 2-amino-5-ene-7-oxosubarate reductase (see Examples XXV and XXVI; steps A/B/C of FIG. 27).

[0122]In another embodiment of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a 2-amino-7-oxosubarate aminating oxidoreductase or 2-amino-7-oxosubarate aminotransferase; a 2,7-diaminosubarate decarboxylase; and a homolysine decarboxylase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; steps K/L/H of FIG. 26). In another embodiment of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a 2-amino-7-oxosubarate amino acid decarboxylase; a 2-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase or a 2-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate aminotransferase; and a homolysine decarboxylase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; steps I/J/H of FIG. 26). In another embodiment of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a 2-amino-7-oxosubarate amino acid decarboxylase; a 2-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate decarboxylase; and a 6-aminohexanal aminating oxidoreductase or a 6-aminohexanal aminotransferase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; steps I/G/C of FIG. 26). In another embodiment of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a 2-amino-7-oxosubarate keto-acid decarboxylase; a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate decarboxylase; and a 6-aminohexanal aminating oxidoreductase or a 6-aminohexanal aminotransferase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; steps A/B/C of FIG. 26). In another embodiment of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a 2-amino-7-oxosubarate keto-acid decarboxylase; a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase or a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminotransferase; and a homolysine decarboxylase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; steps A/M/H of FIG. 26). In a further aspect of each of the above embodiments, the microbial organism has a 2-amino-7-oxosubarate pathway having a second set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding 2-amino-7-oxosubarate pathway enzymes expressed in a sufficient amount to produce 2-amino-7-oxosubarate, the 2-amino-7-oxosubarate pathway including a 2-amino-5-hydroxy-7-oxosubarate aldolase; a 2-amino-5-hydroxy-7-oxosubarate dehydratase; and a 2-amino-5-ene-7-oxosubarate reductase (see Examples XXV and XXVI; steps A/B/C of FIG. 27).The invention additionally provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a levulinic acid (LA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a LA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce LA, the LA pathway including a 3-oxoadipyl-CoA thiolase, a 3-oxoadipyl-CoA/acyl-CoA transferase, a 3-oxoadipyl-CoA synthase, a 3-oxoadipyl-CoA hydrolase, or a 3-oxoadipate decarboxylase (see Example XXIX; steps A/E/F/G/AA of FIG. 25). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding LA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a 3-oxoadipyl-CoA thiolase; a 3-oxoadipyl-CoA/acyl-CoA transferase, a 3-oxoadipyl-CoA synthase, or a 3-oxoadipyl-CoA hydrolase; and a 3-oxoadipate decarboxylase.

[0123]A non-naturally occurring microbial organism disclosed herein can have, for example, a 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid pathway, wherein the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product, as disclosed herein. Thus, a non-naturally occurring microbial organism can contain at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide, where the polypeptide is an enzyme or protein that converts the substrates and products of a 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid pathway, such as that shown in FIGS. 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 20-27.

[0124]For example, a non-naturally occurring microbial organism can have an adipate pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from succinyl-CoA and acetyl-CoA to 3-oxoadipyl-CoA; 3-oxoadipyl-CoA to 3-hydroxyadipyl-CoA; 3-hydroxyadipyl-CoA to 5-carboxy-2-pentenoyl-CoA; 5-carboxy-2-pentenoyl-CoA to adipyl-CoA; adipyl-CoA to adipate (see FIG. 2). Additionally, a non-naturally occurring microbial organism can have an adipate pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from succinyl-CoA and acetyl-CoA to 3-oxoadipyl-CoA; 3-oxoadipyl-CoA to 3-oxoadipate; 3-oxoadipate to 3-hydroxyadipate; 3-hydroxyadipate to hexa-2-enedioate (also referred to herein as 5-carboxy-2-pentenoate); hexa-2-enedioate to adipate (see FIG. 3). Also, a non-naturally occurring microbial organism can have a 6-aminocaproic acid pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from adipyl-CoA to adipate semialdehyde; and adipate semialdehyde to 6-aminocaproate (see FIG. 8). Furthermore, a non-naturally occurring microbial organism can have a caprolactam pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from adipyl-CoA to adipate semialdehyde; adipate semialdehyde to 6-aminocaproate; and 6-aminocaproate to caprolactam. Additionally, a non-naturally occurring microbial organism can have an adipate pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from alpha-ketoadipate to alpha-ketoadipyl-CoA; alpha-ketoadipyl-CoA to 2-hydroxyadipyl-CoA; 2-hydroxyadipyl-CoA to 5-carboxy-2-pentenoyl-CoA; 5-carboxy-2-pentenoyl-CoA to adipyl-CoA; and adipyl-CoA to adipate (see FIG. 9). Also, a non-naturally occurring microbial organism can have an adipate pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from alpha-ketoadipate to 2-hydroxyadipate; 2-hydroxyadipate to 2-hydroxyadipyl-CoA; 2-hydroxyadipyl-CoA to 5-carboxy-2-pentenoyl-CoA; 5-carboxy-2-pentenoyl-CoA to adipyl-CoA; and adipyl-CoA to adipate (FIG. 9).

[0125]Additionally, a non-naturally occurring microbial organism can have a 6-aminocaproyl-CoA pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from 4-aminobutyryl-CoA and acetyl-CoA to 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA; 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA to 3-hydroxy-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA; 3-hydroxy-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA to 6-aminohex-2-enoyl-CoA; 6-aminohex-2-enoyl-CoA to 6-aminocaproyl-CoA (FIG. 11). Additional substrates and products of such a pathway can include 6-aminocaproyl-CoA to 6-aminocaproate; 6-aminocaproyl-CoA to caprolactam; or 6-aminocaproyl-CoA to 6-aminocaproate semialdehyde and 6-aminocaproate semialdehyde to hexamethylenediamine (FIG. 11). A non-naturally occurring microbial organism also can have a 6-aminocaproic acid pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from 4-aminobutyryl-CoA and acetyl-CoA to 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA; 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA to 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoate; 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoate to 3-hydroxy-6-aminohexanoate; 3-hydroxy-6-aminohexanoate to 6-aminohex-2-enoate; and 6-aminohex-2-enoate to 6-aminocaproate (FIG. 11). Additional substrates and products of such a pathway can include 6-aminocaproate to caprolactam or 6-aminocaproate to 6-aminocaproyl-CoA, 6-aminocaproyl-CoA to 6-aminocaproate semialdehyde, and 6-aminocaproate semialdehyde to hexamethylenediamine (FIG. 11).

[0126]Additionally, a non-naturally occurring microbial organism can have a 6-aminocaproic acid pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from pyruvate and succinic semialdehyde to 4-hydroxy-2-oxoheptane-1,7-dioate; 4-hydroxy-2-oxoheptane-1,7-dioate (HODH) to 2-oxohept-4-ene-1,7-dioate (OHED): 2-oxohept-4-ene-1,7-dioate (OHED) to 2-oxoheptane-1,7-dioate (2-OHD); 2-oxoheptane-1,7-dioate (2-OHD) to adipate semialdehyde; and adipate semialdehyde to 6-aminocaproate (FIG. 12). A non-naturally occurring microbial organism alternatively can have a 6-aminocaproic acid pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from pyruvate and succinic semialdehyde to 4-hydroxy-2-oxoheptane-1,7-dioate; 4-hydroxy-2-oxoheptane-1,7-dioate (HODH) to 2-oxohept-4-ene-1,7-dioate (OHED); 2-oxohept-4-ene-1,7-dioate (OHED) to 6-oxohex-4-enoate (6-OHE): 6-oxohex-4-enoate (6-OHE) to adipate semialdehyde; and adipate semialdehyde to 6-aminocaproate (FIG. 12). A non-naturally occurring microbial organism alternatively can have a 6-aminocaproic acid pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from pyruvate and succinic semialdehyde to 4-hydroxy-2-oxoheptane-1,7-dioate; 4-hydroxy-2-oxoheptane-1,7-dioate (HODH) to 2-oxohept-4-ene-1,7-dioate (OHED); 2-oxohept-4-ene-1,7-dioate (OHED) to 2-aminohept-4-ene-1,7-dioate (2-AHE); 2-aminohept-4-ene-1,7-dioate (2-AHE) to 2-aminoheptane-1,7-dioate (2-AHD); and 2-aminoheptane-1,7-dioate (2-AHD) to 6-aminocaproate (FIG. 12). A non-naturally occurring microbial organism alternatively can have a 6-aminocaproic acid pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from pyruvate and succinic semialdehyde to 4-hydroxy-2-oxoheptane-1,7-dioate; 4-hydroxy-2-oxoheptane-1,7-dioate (HODH) to 2-oxohept-4-ene-1,7-dioate (OHED); 2-oxohept-4-ene-1,7-dioate (OHED) to 2-oxoheptane-1,7-dioate (2-OHD); 2-oxoheptane-1,7-dioate (2-OHD) to 2-aminoheptane-1,7-dioate (2-AHD); and 2-aminoheptane-1,7-dioate (2-AHD) to 6-aminocaproate (FIG. 12). A non-naturally occurring microbial organism alternatively can have a 6-aminocaproic acid pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from pyruvate and succinic semialdehyde to 4-hydroxy-2-oxoheptane-1,7-dioate; 4-hydroxy-2-oxoheptane-1,7-dioate (HODH) to 3-hydroxyadipyl-CoA; 3-hydroxyadipyl-CoA to 2,3-dehydroadipyl-CoA; 2,3-dehydroadipyl-CoA to adipyl-CoA; adipyl-CoA to adipate semialdehyde; and adipate semialdehyde to 6-aminocaproate (FIG. 12). A non-naturally occurring microbial organism alternatively can have a 6-aminocaproic acid pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from pyruvate and succinic semialdehyde to 4-hydroxy-2-oxoheptane-1,7-dioate; 4-hydroxy-2-oxoheptane-1,7-dioate (HODH) to 2-oxohept-4-ene-1,7-dioate (OHED); 2-oxohept-4-ene-1,7-dioate (OHED) to 2,3-dehydroadipyl-CoA; 2,3-dehydroadipyl-CoA to adipyl-CoA; adipyl-CoA to adipate semialdehyde; and adipate semialdehyde to 6-aminocaproate (FIG. 12). A non-naturally occurring microbial organism alternatively can have a 6-aminocaproic acid pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from pyruvate and succinic semialdehyde to 4-hydroxy-2-oxoheptane-1,7-dioate; 4-hydroxy-2-oxoheptane-1,7-dioate (HODH) to 2-oxohept-4-ene-1,7-dioate (OHED); 2-oxohept-4-ene-1,7-dioate (OHED) to 2-oxoheptane-1,7-dioate (2-OHD); 2-oxoheptane-1,7-dioate (2-OHD) to adipyl-CoA; adipyl-CoA to adipate semialdehyde; and adipate semialdehyde to 6-aminocaproate (FIG. 12).

[0127]Additionally, a non-naturally occurring microbial organism can have a 6-aminocaproic acid pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from glutamate to glutamyl-CoA; glutamyl-coA to 3-oxo-6-amino-pimeloyl-CoA; 3-oxo-6-amino-pimeloyl-CoA to 3-hydroxy-6-amino-pimeloyl-CoA; 3-hydroxy-6-amino-pimeloyl-CoA to 6-amino-7-carboxy-hept-2-enoyl-CoA; 6-amino-7-carboxy-hept-2-enoyl-CoA to 6-aminopimeloyl-CoA; 6-aminopimeloyl-CoA to 2-aminopimelate; and 2-aminopimelate to 6-aminocaproate (FIG. 20). A non-naturally occurring microbial organism alternatively can have a 6-aminocaproic acid pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from glutaryl-CoA to 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA; 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA to 3-oxopimelate; 3-oxopimelate to 3-aminopimelate; 3-aminopimelate to 2-aminopimelate; and 2-aminopimelate to 6-aminocaproate (FIG. 21). A non-naturally occurring microbial organism alternatively can have a 6-aminocaproic acid pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from homolysine to 6-aminohexanamide; and 6-aminohexanamide to 6-aminocaproate (FIG. 23). A non-naturally occurring microbial organism alternatively can have a 6-aminocaproic acid pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from adipate to adipate semialdehyde; adipate to adipylphospate; and adipylphospate to adipate semialdehyde (FIG. 25).

[0128]Additionally, a non-naturally occurring microbial organism can have a 6-aminocaproic acid pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from 2-amino-7-oxosubarate to 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate; 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate to 6-aminohexanal; 6-aminohexanal to 6-aminocaproate; 2-amino-7-oxosubarate to 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate; 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate to 6-aminohexanal; 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate to 2-aminopimelate; and 2-aminopimelate to 6-aminocaproate (FIG. 26). A non-naturally occurring microbial organism can further have a 2-amino-7-oxosubarate pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from glutamate-5-semialdehyde to 2-amino-5-hydroxy-7-oxosubarate; 2-amino-5-hydroxy-7-oxosubarate to 2-amino-5-ene-7-oxosubarate; and 2-amino-5-ene-7-oxosubarate to 2-amino-7-oxosubarate (FIG. 27).Additionally, a non-naturally occurring microbial organism can have an hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from 6-aminocaproate to [(6-aminohexanoyl)oxy]phosphonate (6-AHOP); [(6-aminohexanoyl)oxy]phosphonate (6-AHOP) to 6-aminocaproaic semialdehyde; and 6-aminocaproaic semialdehyde to hexamethylenediamine (FIG. 13). A non-naturally occurring microbial organism alternatively can have a HMDA pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from 6-aminocaproate to [(6-aminohexanoyl)oxy]phosphonate (6-AHOP); [(6-aminohexanoyl)oxy]phosphonate (6-AHOP) to 6-aminocaproyl-CoA; 6-aminocaproyl-CoA to 6-aminocaproaic semialdehyde; and 6-aminocaproaic semialdehyde to hexamethylenediamine (FIG. 13). A non-naturally occurring microbial organism alternatively can have a HMDA pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from 6-aminocaproate to 6-aminocaproyl-CoA; 6-aminocaproyl-CoA to 6-aminocaproic semialdehyde; and 6-aminocaproic semialdehyde to hexamethylenediamine (FIG. 13). A non-naturally occurring microbial organism alternatively can have a HMDA pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from 6-aminocaproate to 6-acetamidohexanoate; 6-acetamidohexanoate to [(6-acetamidohexanoy)oxy]phosphonate (6-AAHOP); [(6-acetamidohexanoy)oxy]phosphonate (6-AAHOP) to 6-acetamidohexanal; 6-acetamidohexanal to 6-acetamidohexanamine; and 6-acetamidohexanamine to hexamethylenediamine (FIG. 13). A non-naturally occurring microbial organism alternatively can have a HMDA pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from 6-aminocaproate to 6-acetamidohexanoate; 6-acetamidohexanoate to 6-acetamidohexanoyl-CoA; 6-acetamidohexanoyl-CoA to 6-acetamidohexanal; 6-acetamidohexanal to 6-acetamidohexanamine; and 6-acetamidohexanamine to hexamethylenediamine (FIG. 13). A non-naturally occurring microbial organism alternatively can have a HMDA pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from 6-aminocaproate to 6-acetamidohexanoate; 6-acetamidohexanoate to [(6-acetamidohexanoy)oxy]phosphonate (6-AAHOP); [(6-acetamidohexanoy)oxy]phosphonate (6-AAHOP) to 6-acetamidohexanoyl-CoA; 6-acetamidohexanoyl-CoA to 6-acetamidohexanal; 6-acetamidohexanal to 6-acetamidohexanamine; and 6-acetamidohexanamine to hexamethylenediamine (FIG. 13).

[0129]Additionally, a non-naturally occurring microbial organism can have an hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from glutamate to glutamyl-CoA; glutamyl-coA to 3-oxo-6-amino-pimeloyl-CoA; 3-oxo-6-amino-pimeloyl-CoA to 3-hydroxy-6-amino-pimeloyl-CoA; 3-hydroxy-6-amino-pimeloyl-CoA to 6-amino-7-carboxy-hept-2-enoyl-CoA; 6-amino-7-carboxy-hept-2-enoyl-CoA to 6-aminopimeloyl-CoA; 6-aminopimeloyl-CoA to 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate; -amino-7-oxoheptanoate to homolysine; and homolysine to HMDA (FIG. 20). A non-naturally occurring microbial organism alternatively can have a HMDA pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from glutaryl-CoA to 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA; 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA to 3-oxopimelate; 3-oxopimelate to 3-oxo-1-carboxy heptanal; 3-oxo-1-carboxy heptanal to 3-oxo-7-amino heptanoate; 3-oxo-7-amino heptanoate to 3,7-diamino heptanoate; 3,7-diamino heptanoate to homolysine; and homolysine to HMDA (FIG. 21). A non-naturally occurring microbial organism alternatively can have a HMDA pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from glutaryl-CoA to 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA; 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA to 3-oxopimelate; 3-oxopimelate to 5-oxopimeloyl phosphonate; 5-oxopimeloyl phosphonate to 3-oxo-1-carboxy heptanal; 3-oxo-1-carboxy heptanal to 3-oxo-7-amino heptanoate; 3-oxo-7-amino heptanoate to 3,7-diamino heptanoate; 3,7-diamino heptanoate to homolysine and homolysine to HMDA (FIG. 21). A non-naturally occurring microbial organism alternatively can have a HMDA pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from glutaryl-CoA to 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA; 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA to 3-oxopimelate; 3-oxopimelate to 5-oxopimeloyl-CoA; 5-oxopimeloyl-CoA to 3-oxo-1-carboxy heptanal; 3-oxo-1-carboxy heptanal to 3-oxo-7-amino heptanoate; 3-oxo-7-amino heptanoate to 3,7-diamino heptanoate; 3,7-diamino heptanoate to homolysine and homolysine to HMDA (FIG. 21). A non-naturally occurring microbial organism alternatively can have a HMDA pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from glutaryl-CoA to 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA; 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA to 3-oxopimelate; 3-oxopimelate to 3-oxo-1-carboxy heptanal; 3-oxo-1-carboxy heptanal to 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate; 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate to 3,7-diamino heptanoate; 3,7-diamino heptanoate to homolysine; and homolysine to HMDA (FIG. 21). A non-naturally occurring microbial organism alternatively can have a HMDA pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from glutaryl-CoA to 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA; 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA to 3-oxopimelate; 3-oxopimelate to 5-oxopimeloyl-CoA; 5-oxopimeloyl-CoA to 3-oxo-1-carboxy heptanal; 3-oxo-1-carboxy heptanal to 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate; 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate to 3,7-diamino heptanoate; 3,7-diamino heptanoate to homolysine; and homolysine to HMDA (FIG. 21). A non-naturally occurring microbial organism alternatively can have a HMDA pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from glutaryl-CoA to 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA; 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA to 3-oxopimelate; 3-oxopimelate to 5-oxopimeloyl phosphonate; 5-oxopimeloyl phosphonate to 3-oxo-1carboxy heptanal; 3-oxo-1-carboxy heptanal to 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate; 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate to 3,7-diamino heptanoate; 3,7-diamino heptanoate to homolysine; and homolysine to HMDA (FIG. 21). A non-naturally occurring microbial organism alternatively can have a HMDA pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from glutaryl-CoA to 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA; 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA to 3-oxopimelate; 3-oxopimelate to 3-aminopimelate; 3-aminopimelate to 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate; 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate to 2-amino-7-axoheptanoate; 2-amino-7-axoheptanoate to homolysine; and homolysine to HMDA (FIG. 21). A non-naturally occurring microbial organism alternatively can have a HMDA pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from glutaryl-CoA to 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA; 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA to 3-oxopimelate; 3-oxopimelate to 3-aminopimelate; 3-aminopimelate to 5-aminopimeloyl phosphonate; 5-aminopimeloyl phosphonate to 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate; 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate to 2-amino-7-axoheptanoate; 2-amino-7-axoheptanoate to homolysine; and homolysine to HMDA (FIG. 21). A non-naturally occurring microbial organism alternatively can have a HMDA pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from glutaryl-CoA to 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA; 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA to 3-oxopimelate; 3-oxopimelate to 5-aminopimeloyl-CoA; 5-aminopimeloyl-CoA to 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate; 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate to 2-amino-7-axoheptanoate; 2-amino-7-axoheptanoate to homolysine; and homolysine to HMDA (FIG. 21). A non-naturally occurring microbial organism alternatively can have a HMDA pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from glutaryl-CoA to 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA; 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA to 3-oxopimelate; 3-oxopimelate to 3-aminopimelate; 3-aminopimelate to 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate; 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate to 3,7-diamino heptanoate; 3,7-diamino heptanoate to homolysine; and homolysine to HMDA (FIG. 21). A non-naturally occurring microbial organism alternatively can have a HMDA pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from glutaryl-CoA to 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA; 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA to 3-oxopimelate; 3-oxopimelate to 3-aminopimelate; 3-aminopimelate to 5-aminopimeloyl-CoA; 5-aminopimeloyl-CoA to 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate; 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate to 3,7-diamino heptanoate; 3,7-diamino heptanoate to homolysine; and homolysine to HMDA (FIG. 21). A non-naturally occurring microbial organism alternatively can have a HMDA pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from glutaryl-CoA to 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA; 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA to 3-oxopimelate; 3-oxopimelate to 3-aminopimelate; 3-aminopimelate to 5-aminopimeloyl phosphonate; 5-aminopimeloyl phosphonate to 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate; 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate to 3,7-diamino heptanoate; 3,7-diamino heptanoate to homolysine; and homolysine to HMDA (FIG. 21). A non-naturally occurring microbial organism alternatively can have a HMDA pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from glutaryl-CoA to 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA; 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA to 3-oxopimelate; 3-oxopimelate to 3-aminopimelate; 3-aminopimelate to 2-aminopimelate; 2-aminopimelate to 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate; 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate to homolysine; and homolysine to HMDA (FIG. 21). A non-naturally occurring microbial organism alternatively can have a HMDA pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from glutaryl-CoA to 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA; 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA to 3-oxopimelate; 3-oxopimelate to 3-aminopimelate; 3-aminopimelate to 2-aminopimelate; 2-aminopimelate to 6-aminopimeloylphosphonate; 6-aminopimeloylphosphonate to 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate; 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate to homolysine; and homolysine to HMDA (FIG. 21). A non-naturally occurring microbial organism alternatively can have a HMDA pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from glutaryl-CoA to 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA; 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA to 3-oxopimelate; 3-oxopimelate to 3-aminopimelate; 3-aminopimelate to 2-aminopimelate; 2-aminopimelate to 6-aminopimeloyl-CoA; 6-aminopimeloyl-CoA to 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate; 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate to homolysine; and homolysine to HMDA (FIG. 21). A non-naturally occurring microbial organism alternatively can have a HMDA pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from pyruvate and 4-aminobutanal to 2-oxo-4-hydroxy 7-aminoheptanoate; 2-oxo-4-hydroxy 7-aminoheptanoate to 2-oxo-7-amino hept-3-enoate; 2-oxo-7-amino hept-3-enoate to 2-oxo-7-amino heptanoate; 2-oxo-7-amino heptanoate to homolysine; and homolysine to HMDA (FIG. 22). A non-naturally occurring microbial organism alternatively can have a HMDA pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from pyruvate and 4-aminobutanal to 2-oxo-4-hydroxy 7-aminoheptanoate; 2-oxo-4-hydroxy 7-aminoheptanoate to 2-oxo-7-amino hept-3-enoate; 2-oxo-7-amino hept-3-enoate to 2-oxo-7-amino heptanoate; 2-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate to 6-aminohexanal; and 6-aminohexanal to HMDA (FIG. 22). A non-naturally occurring microbial organism alternatively can have a HMDA pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from 6-aminocaproate to 6-aminocaproic semialdehyde; and 6-aminocaproic semialdehyde to HMDA (FIG. 24). A non-naturally occurring microbial organism alternatively can have a HMDA pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from 6-aminocaproate to 6-acetamidohexanoate; 6-acetamidohexanoate to 6-acetamidohexanal; 6-acetamidohexanal to 6-acetamidohexanamine; 6-acetamidohexanamine to HMDA (FIG. 24). A non-naturally occurring microbial organism alternatively can have a HMDA pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from 2-amino-7-oxosubarate to 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate; 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate to 6-aminohexanal; 6-aminohexanal to HMDA; 2-amino-7-oxosubarate to 2-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate; 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate to homolysine; homolysine to HMDA; 2-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate to homolysine; 2-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate to 6-aminohexanal; 2-amino-7-oxosubarate to 2,7-diaminosubarate; and 2,7-diaminosubarate to homolysine (FIG. 26). A non-naturally occurring microbial organism can further have a 2-amino-7-oxosubarate pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from glutamate-5-semialdehyde to 2-amino-5-hydroxy-7-oxosubarate; 2-amino-5-hydroxy-7-oxosubarate to 2-amino-5-ene-7-oxosubarate; and 2-amino-5-ene-7-oxosubarate to 2-amino-7-oxosubarate (FIG. 27).

[0130]Additionally, a non-naturally occurring microbial organism can have a levulinic acid pathway, wherein the microbial organism contains at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide that converts a substrate to a product selected from succinyl-CoA and acetyl-CoA to 3-oxoadipyl-CoA; 3-oxoadipyl-CoA to 3-oxoadipate; and 3-oxoadipate to levulinic acid. It is understood that any of the pathways disclosed herein which produce an intermediate of one pathway can be used to produce that intermediate for another pathway, if desired. For example, as disclosed herein, the alpha-ketoadipate to adipate pathway shown in FIG. 9 produces the intermediate adipyl-CoA, which is also an intermediate in the pathway depicted in FIG. 10. Thus, it is understood that an alternative pathway includes alpha-ketoadipate to adipyl-CoA, which can be converted to adipate, 6-aminocaporate, caprolactam or hexamethylenediamine, as depicted in FIG. 10. It is understood that any of the pathways disclosed herein that produce a desired intermediate can be used in combination with any other pathways disclosed herein so long as a desired product is produced. For example, a non-naturally occurring microbial organism disclosed herein, can have at least one nucleic acid encoding a 6-aminocaproic acid pathway enzyme and at least one nucleic acid encoding a hexamethylenediamine pathway enzyme, such as 2-AHD decarboxylase (Step I of FIG. 12) and 6-acetamidohexanoate kinase (Step E of FIG. 13), or alternatively 2-oxohept-4-ene-1,7-dioate (OHED) decarboxylase (Step F of FIG. 12), adipate semialdehyde aminotransferase (Step E of FIG. 12) and 6-acetamidohexanoyl-CoA oxidoreductase (Step J of FIG. 13), or alternatively 5-carboxy-2-pentenoyl-CoA reductase (Step D of FIG. 10), adipyl-CoA dehydrogenase (Step O of FIG. 12) and 6-aminocaproyl-CoA oxidoreductase (Step N of FIG. 13), or alternatively 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminotransferase (Step G of FIG. 20) and 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase (Step R of FIG. 21), or alternatively 6-aminocaproate reductase (Step O of FIG. 24) and 6-aminohex-2-enoate reductase (Step J of FIG. 11), or alternatively adipate reductase (Step X of FIG. 25) and 6-acetamidohexanoate reductase (Step P of FIG. 24).

[0131]In an additional embodiment, the invention provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid pathway, wherein the non-naturally occurring microbial organism comprises at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding an enzyme or protein that converts a substrate to a product selected from any of the substrates or products disclosed herein or shown in any of FIGS. 1-14 and 20-27. One skilled in the art will understand that any of the substrate-product pairs disclosed herein suitable to produce a desired product and for which an appropriate activity is available for the conversion of the substrate to the product can be readily determined by one skilled in the art based on the teachings herein. Thus, the invention provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism containing at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding an enzyme or protein, where the enzyme or protein converts the substrates and products of a 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid pathway, such as any of those shown in FIGS. 1-14 and 20-27.

[0132]While generally described herein as a microbial organism that contains a 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid pathway, it is understood that the invention additionally provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism comprising at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce an intermediate of a 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid pathway. For example, as disclosed herein, 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid pathway are exemplified in FIGS. 1-14 and 20-27. Therefore, in addition to a microbial organism containing a 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid pathway that produces 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid, the invention additionally provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism comprising at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid pathway enzyme, where the microbial organism produces a 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid pathway intermediate, for example, any of the intermediates shown in FIGS. 1-14 and 20-27.

[0133]It is understood that any of the pathways disclosed herein, including those as described in the Examples and exemplified in the Figures, including the pathways of FIGS. 1-14 and 20-27, can be utilized to generate a non-naturally occurring microbial organism that produces any pathway intermediate or product, as desired. As disclosed herein, such a microbial organism that produces an intermediate can be used in combination with another microbial organism expressing downstream pathway enzymes to produce a desired product. However, it is understood that a non-naturally occurring microbial organism that produces a 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid pathway intermediate can be utilized to produce the intermediate as a desired product.

[0134]The invention is described herein with general reference to the metabolic reaction, reactant or product thereof, or with specific reference to one or more nucleic acids or genes encoding an enzyme associated with or catalyzing the referenced metabolic reaction, reactant or product. Unless otherwise expressly stated herein, those skilled in the art will understand that reference to a reaction also constitutes reference to the reactants and products of the reaction. Similarly, unless otherwise expressly stated herein, reference to a reactant or product also references the reaction, and reference to any of these metabolic constituents also references the gene or genes encoding the enzymes that catalyze the referenced reaction, reactant or product. Likewise, given the well known fields of metabolic biochemistry, enzymology and genomics, reference herein to a gene or encoding nucleic acid also constitutes a reference to the corresponding encoded enzyme and the reaction it catalyzes as well as the reactants and products of the reaction.

[0135]The non-naturally occurring microbial organisms of the invention can be produced by introducing expressible nucleic acids encoding one or more of the enzymes participating in one or more 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid biosynthetic pathways. Depending on the host microbial organism chosen for biosynthesis, nucleic acids for some or all of a particular 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid biosynthetic pathway can be expressed. For example, if a chosen host is deficient in one or more enzymes for a desired biosynthetic pathway, then expressible nucleic acids for the deficient enzyme(s) are introduced into the host for subsequent exogenous expression. Alternatively, if the chosen host exhibits endogenous expression of some pathway genes, but is deficient in others, then an encoding nucleic acid is needed for the deficient enzyme(s) to achieve 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid biosynthesis. Thus, a non-naturally occurring microbial organism of the invention can be produced by introducing exogenous enzyme activities to obtain a desired biosynthetic pathway or a desired biosynthetic pathway can be obtained by introducing one or more exogenous enzyme activities that, together with one or more endogenous enzymes, produces a desired product such as 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid.

[0136]Depending on the 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid biosynthetic pathway constituents of a selected host microbial organism, the non-naturally occurring microbial organisms of the invention will include at least one exogenously expressed 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid pathway-encoding nucleic acid and up to all encoding nucleic acids for one or more adipate, 6-aminocaproic acid or caprolactam biosynthetic pathways. For example, 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid biosynthesis can be established in a host deficient in a pathway enzyme through exogenous expression of the corresponding encoding nucleic acid. In a host deficient in all enzymes of a 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid pathway, exogenous expression of all enzymes in the pathway can be included, although it is understood that all enzymes of a pathway can be expressed even if the host contains at least one of the pathway enzymes.

[0137]For example, exogenous expression of all enzymes in a pathway for production of adipate can be included in a host organism, such as succinyl-CoA:acetyl-CoA acyl transferase, 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase, 3-hydroxyadipyl-CoA dehydratase, 5-carboxy-2-pentenoyl-CoA reductase, and adipyl-CoA synthetase or phosphotransadipylase/adipate kinase or adipyl-CoA:acetyl-CoA transferase or adipyl-CoA hydrolase. In particular, a host organism can contain the adipate pathway enzymes succinyl-CoA:acetyl-CoA acyl transferase, 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase, 3-hydroxyadipyl-CoA dehydratase, 5-carboxy-2-pentenoyl-CoA reductase, and adipyl-CoA synthetase. Alternatively, a host organism can contain the adipate pathway enzymes succinyl-CoA:acetyl-CoA acyl transferase, 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase, 3-hydroxyadipyl-CoA dehydratase, 5-carboxy-2-pentenoyl-CoA reductase, and phosphotransadipylase/adipate kinase. In addition, a host organism can contain the adipate pathway enzymes succinyl-CoA:acetyl-CoA acyl transferase, 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase, 3-hydroxyadipyl-CoA dehydratase, 5-carboxy-2-pentenoyl-CoA reductase, and adipyl-CoA:acetyl-CoA transferase. Further, a host organism can contain the adipate pathway enzymes succinyl-CoA:acetyl-CoA acyl transferase, 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase, 3-hydroxyadipyl-CoA dehydratase, 5-carboxy-2-pentenoyl-CoA reductase, and adipyl-CoA hydrolase.

[0138]In the case of a 6-aminocaproic acid producing microbial organism, exogenous expression of all enzymes in a pathway for production of 6-aminocaproic acid can be included in a host organism, such as CoA-dependent aldehyde dehydrogenase and transaminase or CoA-dependent aldehyde dehydrogenase and 6-aminocaproate dehydrogenase. For a caprolactam producing microbial organism, exogenous expression of all enzymes in a pathway for production of caprolactam can be included in a host organism, such as CoA-dependent aldehyde dehydrogenase, transaminase or 6-aminocaproate dehydrogenase, and amidohydrolase. In another example, exogenous expression of all enzymes in a pathway for production of 6-aminocaproic acid (6-ACA) can be included in a host organism, such as an HODH aldolase; an OHED hydratase; an OHED reductase; a 2-OHD decarboxylase; and an adipate semialdehyde aminotransferase or an adipate semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating), or alternatively an HODH aldolase; an OHED hydratase; an OHED decarboxylase; a 6-OHE reductase; and an adipate semialdehyde aminotransferase or an adipate semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating), or alternatively an HODH aldolase; an OHED hydratase; an OHED aminotransferase or an OHED oxidoreductase (aminating); a 2-AHE reductase; and a 2-AHD decarboxylase, or alternatively an HODH aldolase; an OHED hydratase; an OHED reductase; a 2-OHD aminotransferase or a 2-OHD oxidoreductase (aminating); and a 2-AHD decarboxylase, or alternatively an HODH aldolase; an HODH formate-lyase and a pyruvate formate-lyase activating enzyme or an HODH dehydrogenase; a 3-hydroxyadipyl-CoA dehydratase; a 2,3-dehydroadipyl-CoA reductase; an adipyl-CoA dehydrogenase; and an adipate semialdehyde aminotransferase or an adipate semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating), or alternatively an HODH aldolase; an OHED hydratase; an OHED formate-lyase and a pyruvate formate-lyase activating enzyme or OHED dehydrogenase; a 2,3-dehydroadipyl-CoA reductase; an adipyl-CoA dehydrogenase; and an adipate semialdehyde aminotransferase or an adipate semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating), or alternatively an HODH aldolase; an OHED hydratase; an OHED reductase; a 2-OHD formate-lyase and a pyruvate formate-lyase activating enzyme or a 2-OHD dehydrogenase; an adipyl-CoA dehydrogenase; and an adipate semialdehyde aminotransferase or an adipate semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating). In a further aspect, all of the 6-ACA pathway described above can include a succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase, an alpha-ketoglutarate decarboxylase or a phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) carboxykinase. In another example, exogenous expression of all enzymes in a pathway for production of 6-aminocaproic acid (6-ACA) can be included in a host organism, such as a glutamyl-CoA transferase or glutamyl-CoA ligase; a beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxo-6-aminopimeloyl-CoA oxidoreductase; a 3-hydroxy-6-aminopimeloyl-CoA dehydratase; a 6-amino-7-carboxyhept-2-enoyl-CoA reductase; a 6-aminopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming); and a 2-aminopimelate decarboxylase, or alternatively a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase or 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-aminopimelate 2,3-aminomutase; and a 2-aminopimelate decarboxylase.

[0139]In another example, exogenous expression of all enzymes in a pathway for production of hexamethylenediamine can be included in a host organism, such as a 6-aminocaproate kinase; a 6-AHOP oxidoreductase; and a 6-aminocaproic semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating) or a 6-aminocaproic acid semialdehyde aminotransferase, or alternatively a 6-aminocaproate kinase; a 6-AHOP acyltransferase; a 6-aminocaproyl-CoA oxidoreductase; and a 6-aminocaproic semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating) or a 6-aminocaproic acid semialdehyde aminotransferase, or alternatively a 6-aminocaproate CoA transferase or a 6-aminocaproate CoA ligase; a 6-aminocaproyl-CoA oxidoreductase; and a 6-aminocaproic semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating) or a 6-aminocaproic acid semialdehyde aminotransferase, or alternatively a 6-aminocaproate N-acetyltransferase; a 6-acetamidohexanoate kinase; a 6-AAHOP oxidoreductase; a 6-acetamidohexanal aminotransferase or a 6-acetamidohexanal oxidoreductase (aminating); and a 6-acetamidohexanamine N-acetyltransferase or a 6-acetamidohexanamine hydrolase (amide), or alternatively a 6-aminocaproate N-acetyltransferase; a 6-acetamidohexanoate CoA transferase or a 6-acetamidohexanoate CoA ligase; a 6-acetamidohexanoyl-CoA oxidoreductase; a 6-acetamidohexanal aminotransferase or a 6-acetamidohexanal oxidoreductase (aminating); and a 6-acetamidohexanamine N-acetyltransferase or a 6-acetamidohexanamine hydrolase (amide), or alternatively a 6-aminocaproate N-acetyltransferase; a 6-acetamidohexanoate kinase; a 6-AAHOP oxidoreductase; a 6-acetamidohexanal aminotransferase or a 6-acetamidohexanal oxidoreductase (aminating); and a 6-acetamidohexanamine N-acetyltransferase or a 6-acetamidohexanamine hydrolase (amide). In another example, exogenous expression of all enzymes in a pathway for production of hexamethylenediamine can be included in a host organism, such as a glutamyl-CoA transferase or ligase; a beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxo-6-aminopimeloyl-CoA oxidoreductase; a 3-hydroxy-6-aminopimeloyl-CoA dehydratase; a 6-amino-7-carboxyhept-2-enoyl-CoA reductase; a 6-aminopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming); a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminotransferase or aminating oxidoreductase; and a homolysine decarboxylase, or alternatively a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate reductase; a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 7-aminotransferase or a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 7-aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate 3-aminotransferase or a 3-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate 3-aminating oxidoreductase; a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase; and a homolysine decarboxylase, or alternatively a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate kinase; a 5-oxopimeloylphosphonate reductase; a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 7-aminotransferase or a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 7-aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate 3-aminotransferase or a 3-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate 3-aminating oxidoreductase; a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase; and a homolysine decarboxylase, or alternatively a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate CoA transferase or 3-oxopimelate CoA ligase; a 5-oxopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming); a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 7-aminotransferase or 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 7-aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate 3-aminotransferase or a 3-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate 3-aminating oxidoreductase; a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase; and a homolysine decarboxylase, or alternatively a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate reductase; a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 3-aminotransferase or a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 3-aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase or a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminating oxidoreductase; a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase; and a homolysine decarboxylase, or alternatively a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate kinase; a 5-oxopimeloylphosphonate reductase; a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 3-aminotransferase or a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 3-aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase or a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminating oxidoreductase; a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase; and a homolysine decarboxylase, or alternatively a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimelate CoA ligase; a 5-oxopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming), a 5-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase or a 5-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 3-aminotransferase or a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 3-aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase or 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminating oxidoreductase; a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase; and a homolysine decarboxylase, or alternatively a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase or a 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-aminopimelate reductase; a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase; a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase or a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase; and a homolysine decarboxylase, or alternatively a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase or a 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-aminopimelate kinase; a 5-aminopimeloylphosphonate reductase; a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase; a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase or a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase; and a homolysine decarboxylase, or alternatively a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase or a 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-aminopimelate CoA transferase or a 3-aminopimelate CoA ligase; a 5-aminopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming); a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase; a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase or 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase; and a homolysine decarboxylase, or alternatively a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase or 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-aminopimelate reductase; a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase or 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminating oxidoreductase; a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase; and a homolysine decarboxylase, or alternatively a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase or a 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-aminopimelate CoA transferase or a 3-aminopimelate CoA ligase; a 5-aminopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming); a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase or 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase; a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase; and a homolysine decarboxylase, or alternatively a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase or a 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-aminopimelate kinase; a 5-aminopimeloylphosphonate reductase; a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase or a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase; a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase; and a homolysine decarboxylase, or alternatively a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase or 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-aminopimelate 2,3-aminomutase; a 2-aminopimelate reductase; a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase or a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase; and a homolysine decarboxylase, or alternatively a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase or a 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-aminopimelate 2,3-aminomutase; a 2-aminopimelate kinase; a 6-aminopimeloylphosphonate reductase; a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase or a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase; and a homolysine decarboxylase, or alternatively a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase or a 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-aminopimelate 2,3-aminomutase; a 2-aminopimelate CoA transferase or 2-aminopimelate CoA ligase; a 6-aminopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming); a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase or 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase; and a homolysine decarboxylase, or alternatively a 2-oxo-4-hydroxy-7-aminoheptanoate aldolase; a 2-oxo-4-hydroxy-7-aminoheptanoate dehydratase; a 2-oxo-7-aminohept-3-enoate reductase; a 2-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate aminotransferase or a 2-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase; and a homolysine decarboxylase, or alternatively a 6-aminocaproate reductase; and a 6-aminocaproic semialdehyde aminotransferase or a 6-aminocaproic semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating), or alternatively a 6-aminocaproate N-acetyltransferase; a 6-acetamidohexanoate reductase; a 6-acetamidohexanal aminotransferase or 6-acetamidohexanal oxidoreductase (aminating); and a 6-acetamidohexanamine N-acetyltransferase or 6-acetamidohexanamine hydrolase (amide).

[0140]Depending on the 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid biosynthetic pathway constituents of a selected host microbial organism, the non-naturally occurring microbial organisms of the invention will include at least one exogenously expressed 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid pathway-encoding nucleic acid and up to all encoding nucleic acids for one or more 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid biosynthetic pathways. For example, 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid biosynthesis can be established in a host deficient in a pathway enzyme or protein through exogenous expression of the corresponding encoding nucleic acid. In a host deficient in all enzymes or proteins of a 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid pathway, exogenous expression of all enzyme or proteins in the pathway can be included, although it is understood that all enzymes or proteins of a pathway can be expressed even if the host contains at least one of the pathway enzymes or proteins. For example, exogenous expression of all enzymes or proteins in a pathway for production of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid can be included, as disclosed herein.

[0141]Given the teachings and guidance provided herein, those skilled in the art will understand that the number of encoding nucleic acids to introduce in an expressible form will, at least, parallel the adipate, 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid pathway deficiencies of the selected host microbial organism. Therefore, a non-naturally occurring microbial organism of the invention can have at least one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven or twelve, up to all nucleic acids encoding the above enzymes constituting a 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid biosynthetic pathway. In some embodiments, the non-naturally occurring microbial organisms also can include other genetic modifications that facilitate or optimize 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid biosynthesis or that confer other useful functions onto the host microbial organism. One such other functionality can include, for example, augmentation of the synthesis of one or more of the 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid pathway precursors such as succinyl-CoA and/or acetyl-CoA in the case of adipate synthesis, or adipyl-CoA or adipate in the case of 6-aminocaproic acid or caprolactam synthesis, including the adipate pathway enzymes disclosed herein, or pyruvate and succinic semialdehyde, glutamate, glutaryl-CoA, homolysine or 2-amino-7-oxosubarate in the case of 6-aminocaprioate synthesis, or 6-aminocaproate, glutamate, glutaryl-CoA, pyruvate and 4-aminobutanal, or 2-amino-7-oxosubarate in the case of hexamethylenediamine synthesis.

[0142]Generally, a host microbial organism is selected such that it produces the precursor of a 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid pathway, either as a naturally produced molecule or as an engineered product that either provides de novo production of a desired precursor or increased production of a precursor naturally produced by the host microbial organism. A host organism can be engineered to increase production of a precursor, as disclosed herein. In addition, a microbial organism that has been engineered to produce a desired precursor can be used as a host organism and further engineered to express enzymes or proteins of a 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid pathway.

[0143]In some embodiments, a non-naturally occurring microbial organism of the invention is generated from a host that contains the enzymatic capability to synthesize 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid. In this specific embodiment it can be useful to increase the synthesis or accumulation of a 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid pathway product to, for example, drive 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid pathway reactions toward 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid production. Increased synthesis or accumulation can be accomplished by, for example, overexpression of nucleic acids encoding one or more of the above-described 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid pathway enzymes. Over expression of the 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid pathway enzyme or enzymes can occur, for example, through exogenous expression of the endogenous gene or genes, or through exogenous expression of the heterologous gene or genes. Therefore, naturally occurring organisms can be readily generated to be non-naturally occurring microbial organisms of the invention, for example, producing 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid, through overexpression of at least one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, that is, up to all nucleic acids encoding 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid biosynthetic pathway enzymes. In addition, a non-naturally occurring organism can be generated by mutagenesis of an endogenous gene that results in an increase in activity of an enzyme in the 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid biosynthetic pathway.

[0144]In particularly useful embodiments, exogenous expression of the encoding nucleic acids is employed. Exogenous expression confers the ability to custom tailor the expression and/or regulatory elements to the host and application to achieve a desired expression level that is controlled by the user. However, endogenous expression also can be utilized in other embodiments such as by removing a negative regulatory effector or induction of the gene's promoter when linked to an inducible promoter or other regulatory element. Thus, an endogenous gene having a naturally occurring inducible promoter can be up-regulated by providing the appropriate inducing agent, or the regulatory region of an endogenous gene can be engineered to incorporate an inducible regulatory element, thereby allowing the regulation of increased expression of an endogenous gene at a desired time. Similarly, an inducible promoter can be included as a regulatory element for an exogenous gene introduced into a non-naturally occurring microbial organism.

[0145]The invention additionally provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism that includes one or more gene disruptions, such as the gene disruptions disclosed in Example XXX and Tables 14-16, where the organism produces a 6-ACA, adipate and/or HMDA. The disruptions occur in genes encoding an enzyme that couples production of adipate, 6-ACA and/or HMDA to growth of the organism when the gene disruption reduces the activity of the enzyme, such that the gene disruptions confer increased production of adipate, 6-ACA and/or HMDA onto the non-naturally occurring organism. Thus, the invention provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism, comprising one or more gene disruptions, the one or more gene disruptions occurring in genes encoding proteins or enzymes wherein the one or more gene disruptions confer increased production of adipate, 6-ACA and/or HMDA in the organism. As disclosed herein, such an organism contains a pathway for production of adipate, 6-ACA and/or HMDA, in addition to the gene disruptions, such as those exemplified in Example XXX and Tables 14-16.

[0146]It is understood that, in methods of the invention, any of the one or more exogenous nucleic acids can be introduced into a microbial organism to produce a non-naturally occurring microbial organism of the invention. The nucleic acids can be introduced so as to confer, for example, a 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid biosynthetic pathway onto the microbial organism. Alternatively, encoding nucleic acids can be introduced to produce an intermediate microbial organism having the biosynthetic capability to catalyze some of the required reactions to confer 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid biosynthetic capability. For example, a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid biosynthetic pathway can comprise at least two exogenous nucleic acids encoding desired enzymes. In the case of adipate production, at least two exogenous nucleic acids can encode the enzymes such as the combination of succinyl-CoA:acetyl-CoA acyl transferase and 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase, or succinyl-CoA:acetyl-CoA acyl transferase and 3-hydroxyadipyl-CoA dehydratase, or 3-hydroxyadipyl-CoA and 5-carboxy-2-pentenoyl-CoA reductase, or 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA and adipyl-CoA synthetase, and the like. In the case of caprolactam production, at least two exogenous nucleic acids can encode the enzymes such as the combination of CoA-dependent aldehyde dehydrogenase and transaminase, or CoA-dependent aldehyde dehydrogenase and amidohydrolase, or transaminase and amidohydrolase. In the case of 6-aminocaproic acid production, at least two exogenous nucleic acids can encode the enzymes such as the combination of an 4-hydroxy-2-oxoheptane-1,7-dioate (HODH) aldolase and a 2-oxohept-4-ene-1,7-dioate (OHED) hydratase, or a 2-oxohept-4-ene-1,7-dioate (OHED) hydratase and a 2-aminoheptane-1,7-dioate (2-AHD) decarboxylase, a 3-hydroxyadipyl-CoA dehydratase and a adipyl-CoA dehydrogenase, a glutamyl-CoA transferase and a 6-aminopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, or a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase and a 3-aminopimelate 2,3-aminomutase. In the case of hexamethylenediamine production, at least two exogenous nucleic acids can encode the enzymes such as the combination of 6-aminocaproate kinase and [(6-aminohexanoyl)oxy]phosphonate (6-AHOP) oxidoreductase, or a 6-acetamidohexanoate kinase and an [(6-acetamidohexanoyl)oxy]phosphonate (6-AAHOP) oxidoreductase, 6-aminocaproate N-acetyltransferase and 6-acetamidohexanoyl-CoA oxidoreductase, a 3-hydroxy-6-aminopimeloyl-CoA dehydratase and a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminotransferase, or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase and a homolysine decarboxylase. Thus, it is understood that any combination of two or more enzymes of a biosynthetic pathway can be included in a non-naturally occurring microbial organism of the invention.

[0147]Similarly, it is understood that any combination of three or more enzymes of a biosynthetic pathway can be included in a non-naturally occurring microbial organism of the invention, for example, in the case of adipate production, the combination of enzymes succinyl-CoA:acetyl-CoA acyl transferase, 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase, and 3-hydroxyadipyl-CoA dehydratase; or succinyl-CoA:acetyl-CoA acyl transferase, 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase and 5-carboxy-2-pentenoyl-CoA reductase; or succinyl-CoA:acetyl-CoA acyl transferase, 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase and adipyl-CoA synthetase; or 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase, 3-hydroxyadipyl-CoA dehydratase and adipyl-CoA:acetyl-CoA transferase, and so forth, as desired, so long as the combination of enzymes of the desired biosynthetic pathway results in production of the corresponding desired product. In the case of 6-aminocaproic acid production, the at least three exogenous nucleic acids can encode the enzymes such as the combination of an 4-hydroxy-2-oxoheptane-1,7-dioate (HODH) aldolase, a 2-oxohept-4-ene-1,7-dioate (OHED) hydratase and a 2-oxoheptane-1,7-dioate (2-OHD) decarboxylase, or a 2-oxohept-4-ene-1,7-dioate (OHED) hydratase, a 2-aminohept-4-ene-1,7-dioate (2-AHE) reductase and a 2-aminoheptane-1,7-dioate (2-AHD) decarboxylase, or a 3-hydroxyadipyl-CoA dehydratase, 2,3-dehydroadipyl-CoA reductase and a adipyl-CoA dehydrogenase, or a 6-amino-7-carboxyhept-2-enoyl-CoA reductase, a 6-aminopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase and a 2-aminopimelate decarboxylase, or a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase, a 3-aminating oxidoreductase and a 2-aminopimelate decarboxylase, or a 3-oxoadipyl-CoA thiolase, a 5-carboxy-2-pentenoate reductase and a adipate reductase. In the case of hexamethylenediamine production, at least three exogenous nucleic acids can encode the enzymes such as the combination of 6-aminocaproate kinase, [(6-aminohexanoyl)oxy]phosphonate (6-AHOP) oxidoreductase and 6-aminocaproic semialdehyde aminotransferase, or a 6-aminocaproate N-acetyltransferase, a 6-acetamidohexanoate kinase and an [(6-acetamidohexanoyl)oxy]phosphonate (6-AAHOP) oxidoreductase, or 6-aminocaproate N-acetyltransferase, a [(6-acetamidohexanoyl)oxy]phosphonate (6-AAHOP) acyltransferase and 6-acetamidohexanoyl-CoA oxidoreductase, or a 3-oxo-6-aminopimeloyl-CoA oxidoreductase, a 3-hydroxy-6-aminopimeloyl-CoA dehydratase and a homolysine decarboxylase, or a 2-oxo-4-hydroxy-7-aminoheptanoate aldolase, a 2-oxo-7-aminohept-3-enoate reductase and a homolysine decarboxylase, or a 6-acetamidohexanoate reductase, a 6-acetamidohexanal aminotransferase and a 6-acetamidohexanamine N-acetyltransferase. Similarly, any combination of four or more enzymes of a biosynthetic pathway as disclosed herein can be included in a non-naturally occurring microbial organism of the invention, as desired, so long as the combination of enzymes of the desired biosynthetic pathway results in production of the corresponding desired product.

[0148]In addition to the biosynthesis of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid as described herein, the non-naturally occurring microbial organisms and methods of the invention also can be utilized in various combinations with each other and with other microbial organisms and methods well known in the art to achieve product biosynthesis by other routes. For example, one alternative to produce 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid other than use of the 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid producers is through addition of another microbial organism capable of converting an adipate, 6-aminocaproic acid or caprolactam pathway intermediate to 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid. One such procedure includes, for example, the fermentation of a microbial organism that produces a 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid pathway intermediate. The 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid pathway intermediate can then be used as a substrate for a second microbial organism that converts the 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid pathway intermediate to 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid. The 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid pathway intermediate can be added directly to another culture of the second organism or the original culture of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid pathway intermediate producers can be depleted of these microbial organisms by, for example, cell separation, and then subsequent addition of the second organism to the fermentation broth can be utilized to produce the final product without intermediate purification steps.

[0149]In other embodiments, the non-naturally occurring microbial organisms and methods of the invention can be assembled in a wide variety of subpathways to achieve biosynthesis of, for example, 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid. In these embodiments, biosynthetic pathways for a desired product of the invention can be segregated into different microbial organisms, and the different microbial organisms can be co-cultured to produce the final product. In such a biosynthetic scheme, the product of one microbial organism is the substrate for a second microbial organism until the final product is synthesized. For example, the biosynthesis of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid can be accomplished by constructing a microbial organism that contains biosynthetic pathways for conversion of one pathway intermediate to another pathway intermediate or the product. Alternatively, 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid also can be biosynthetically produced from microbial organisms through co-culture or co-fermentation using two organisms in the same vessel, where the first microbial organism produces a 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid intermediate and the second microbial organism converts the intermediate to 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid.

[0150]Given the teachings and guidance provided herein, those skilled in the art will understand that a wide variety of combinations and permutations exist for the non-naturally occurring microbial organisms and methods of the invention together with other microbial organisms, with the co-culture of other non-naturally occurring microbial organisms having subpathways and with combinations of other chemical and/or biochemical procedures well known in the art to produce 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid.

[0151]Similarly, it is understood by those skilled in the art that a host organism can be selected based on desired characteristics for introduction of one or more gene disruptions to increase production of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid. Thus, it is understood that, if a genetic modification is to be introduced into a host organism to disrupt a gene, any homologs, orthologs or paralogs that catalyze similar, yet non-identical metabolic reactions can similarly be disrupted to ensure that a desired metabolic reaction is sufficiently disrupted. Because certain differences exist among metabolic networks between different organisms, those skilled in the art will understand that the actual genes disrupted in a given organism may differ between organisms. However, given the teachings and guidance provided herein, those skilled in the art also will understand that the methods of the invention can be applied to any suitable host microorganism to identify the cognate metabolic alterations needed to construct an organism in a species of interest that will increase 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid biosynthesis. In a particular embodiment, the increased production couples biosynthesis of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid to growth of the organism, and can obligatorily couple production of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid to growth of the organism if desired and as disclosed herein.

[0152]Sources of encoding nucleic acids for a 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid pathway enzyme can include, for example, any species where the encoded gene product is capable of catalyzing the referenced reaction. Such species include both prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms including, but not limited to, bacteria, including archaea and eubacteria, and eukaryotes, including yeast, plant, insect, animal, and mammal, including human. Exemplary species for such sources include, for example, Escherichia coli, Escherichia coli str. K12, Escherichia coli C, Escherichia coli W, Pseudomonas sp, Pseudomonas knackmussii, Pseudomonas sp. Strain B13, Pseudomonas putida, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Pseudomonas stutzeri, Pseudomonas mendocina, Rhodopseudomonas palustris, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Vibrio cholera, Heliobacter pylori, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Serratia proteamaculans, Streptomyces sp. 2065, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1, Ralstonia eutropha, Ralstonia eutropha H16, Clostridium acetobutylicum, Euglena gracilis, Treponema denticola, Clostridium kluyveri, Homo sapiens, Rattus norvegicus, Acinetobacter sp. ADP1, Acinetobacter sp. Strain M-1, Streptomyces coelicolor, Eubacterium barkeri, Peptostreptococcus asaccharolyticus, Clostridium botulinum, Clostridium botulinum A3 str, Clostridium tyrobutyricum, Clostridium pasteurianum, Clostridium thermoaceticum (Moorella thermoaceticum), Moorella thermoacetica Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, Mus musculus, Sus scrofa, Flavobacterium sp, Arthrobacter aurescens, Penicillium chrysogenum, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus nidulans, Bacillus subtilis, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Zymomonas mobilis, Mannheimia succiniciproducens, Clostridium ljungdahlii, Clostridium carboxydivorans, Geobacillus stearothermophilus, Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Achromobacter denitrificans, Arabidopsis thaliana, Haemophilus influenzae, Acidaminococcus fermentans, Clostridium sp. M62/1, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Bos taurus, Zoogloea ramigera, Rhodobacter sphaeroides, Clostridium beijerinckii, Metallosphaera sedula, Thermoanaerobacter species, Thermoanaerobacter brockii, Acinetobacter baylyi, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Sulfolobus tokodaii, Sulfolobus tokodaii 7, Sulfolobus solfataricus, Sulfolobus solfataricus, Sulfolobus acidocaldarius, Salmonella typhimurium, Salmonella enterica, Thermotoga maritima, Halobacterium salinarum, Bacillus cereus, Clostridium difficile, Alkaliphilus metalliredigenes, Thermoanaerobacter tengcongensis, Saccharomyces kluyveri, Helicobacter pylori, Corynebacterium glutamicum, Clostridium sacchanopenbutylacetonicum, Pseudomonas chlononaphis, Streptomyces clavuligenus, Campylobacter jejuni, Thermus thenmophilus, Pelotomaculum thermopropionicum, Bacteroides capillosus, Anaerotruncus colihominis, Natranaerobius thenmophilius, Archaeoglobus fulgidus, Archaeoglobus fulgidus DSM 4304, Haloancula marismortui, Pynobaculum aenophilum, Pynobaculum aenophilum str. IM2, Nicotiana tabacum, Menthe piperita, Pinus taeda, Hordeum vulgane, Zea mays, Rhodococcus opacus, Cupriavidus necator, Bradyrhizobium japonicum, Bradyrhizobium japonicum USDA110, Ascarius suum, butyrate-producing bacterium L2-50, Bacillus megaterium, Methanococcus manipaludis, Methanosarcina mazei, Methanosarcina mazei, Methanocarcina barkeri, Methanocaldococcus jannaschii, Caenorhabditis elegans, Leishmania major, Methylomicrobium alcaliphilum 20Z, Chromohalobacten salexigens, Archaeglubus fulgidus, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, trichomonas vaginalis G3, Trypanosoma brucei, Mycoplana ramose, Micrococcus luteas, Acetobacter pasteunians, Kluyvenomyces lactis, Mesorhizobium loti, Lactococcus lactis, Lysinibacillus sphaericus, Candida boidinii, Candida albicans SC5314, Burkholderia ambifaria AMMD, Ascaris suun, Acinetobacter baumanii, Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, Burkholderia phymatum, Candida albicans, Clostridium subterminale, Cupriavidus taiwanensis, Flavobacterium lutescens, Lachancea kluyveri, Lactobacillus sp. 30a, Leptospira interrogans, Moorella thermoacetica, Myxococcus xanthus, Nicotiana glutinosa, Nocardia iowensis (sp. NRRL 5646), Pseudomonas reinekei MT1, Ralstonia eutropha JMP134, Ralstonia metallidurans, Rhodococcus jostii, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Selenomonas ruminantium, Streptomyces clavuligenus, Syntrophus aciditrophicus, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Vibrio vulnificus, as well as other exemplary species disclosed herein or available as source organisms for corresponding genes (see Examples). However, with the complete genome sequence available for now more than 550 species (with more than half of these available on public databases such as the NCBI), including 395 microorganism genomes and a variety of yeast, fungi, plant, and mammalian genomes, the identification of genes encoding the requisite 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid biosynthetic activity for one or more genes in related or distant species, including for example, homologues, orthologs, paralogs and nonorthologous gene displacements of known genes, and the interchange of genetic alterations between organisms is routine and well known in the art. Accordingly, the metabolic alterations enabling biosynthesis of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid described herein with reference to a particular organism such as E. coli can be readily applied to other microorganisms, including prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms alike. Given the teachings and guidance provided herein, those skilled in the art will know that a metabolic alteration exemplified in one organism can be applied equally to other organisms.

[0153]In some instances, such as when a 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid biosynthetic pathway exists in an unrelated species, 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid biosynthesis can be conferred onto the host species by, for example, exogenous expression of a paralog or paralogs from the unrelated species that catalyzes a similar, yet non-identical metabolic reaction to replace the referenced reaction. Because certain differences among metabolic networks exist between different organisms, those skilled in the art will understand that the actual gene usage between different organisms may differ. However, given the teachings and guidance provided herein, those skilled in the art also will understand that the teachings and methods of the invention can be applied to all microbial organisms using the cognate metabolic alterations to those exemplified herein to construct a microbial organism in a species of interest that will synthesize 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid.

[0154]Host microbial organisms can be selected from, and the non-naturally occurring microbial organisms generated in, for example, bacteria, yeast, fungus or any of a variety of other microorganisms applicable to fermentation processes. Exemplary bacteria include species selected from Escherichia coli, Klebsiella oxytoca, Anaerobiospirillum succiniciproducens, Actinobacillus succinogenes, Mannheimia succiniciproducens, Rhizobium etli, Bacillus subtilis, Corynebacterium glutamicum, Gluconobacter oxydans, Zymomonas mobilis, Lactococcus lactis, Lactobacillus plantarum, Streptomyces coelicolor, Clostridium acetobutylicum, Pseudomonas fluorescens, and Pseudomonas putida. Exemplary yeasts or fungi include species selected from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Kluyveromyces lactis, Kluyveromyces marxianus, Aspergillus terreus, Aspergillus niger, Pichia pastoris, Rhizopus arrhizus, Rhizobus oryzae, and the like. For example, E. coli is a particularly useful host organisms since it is a well characterized microbial organism suitable for genetic engineering. Other particularly useful host organisms include yeast such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae. It is understood that any suitable microbial host organism can be used to introduce metoblic and/or genetic modifications to produce a desired product.

[0155]Methods for constructing and testing the expression levels of a non-naturally occurring 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid-producing host can be performed, for example, by recombinant and detection methods well known in the art. Such methods can be found described in, for example, Sambrook et al., Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, Third Ed., Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York (2001); and Ausubel et al., Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, John Wiley and Sons, Baltimore, Md. (1999).

[0156]Exogenous nucleic acid sequences involved in a pathway for production of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid can be introduced stably or transiently into a host cell using techniques well known in the art including, but not limited to, conjugation, electroporation, chemical transformation, transduction, transfection, and ultrasound transformation. For exogenous expression in E. coli or other prokaryotic cells, some nucleic acid sequences in the genes or cDNAs of eukaryotic nucleic acids can encode targeting signals such as an N-terminal mitochondrial or other targeting signal, which can be removed before transformation into prokaryotic host cells, if desired. For example, removal of a mitochondrial leader sequence led to increased expression in E. coli (Hoffmeister et al., J. Biol. Chem. 280:4329-4338 (2005). For exogenous expression in yeast or other eukaryotic cells, genes can be expressed in the cytosol without the addition of leader sequence, or can be targeted to mitochondrion or other organelles, or targeted for secretion, by the addition of a suitable targeting sequence such as a mitochondrial targeting or secretion signal suitable for the host cells. Thus, it is understood that appropriate modifications to a nucleic acid sequence to remove or include a targeting sequence can be incorporated into an exogenous nucleic acid sequence to impart desirable properties. Furthermore, genes can be subjected to codon optimization with techniques well known in the art to achieve optimized expression of the proteins.

[0157]An expression vector or vectors can be constructed to include one or more 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid biosynthetic pathway encoding nucleic acids as exemplified herein operably linked to expression control sequences functional in the host organism. Expression vectors applicable for use in the microbial host organisms of the invention include, for example, plasmids, phage vectors, viral vectors, episomes and artificial chromosomes, including vectors and selection sequences or markers operable for stable integration into a host chromosome. Additionally, the expression vectors can include one or more selectable marker genes and appropriate expression control sequences. Selectable marker genes also can be included that, for example, provide resistance to antibiotics or toxins, complement auxotrophic deficiencies, or supply critical nutrients not in the culture media. Expression control sequences can include constitutive and inducible promoters, transcription enhancers, transcription terminators, and the like which are well known in the art. When two or more exogenous encoding nucleic acids are to be co-expressed, both nucleic acids can be inserted, for example, into a single expression vector or in separate expression vectors. For single vector expression, the encoding nucleic acids can be operationally linked to one common expression control sequence or linked to different expression control sequences, such as one inducible promoter and one constitutive promoter. The transformation of exogenous nucleic acid sequences involved in a metabolic or synthetic pathway can be confirmed using methods well known in the art. Such methods include, for example, nucleic acid analysis such as Northern blots or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of mRNA, or immunoblotting for expression of gene products, or other suitable analytical methods to test the expression of an introduced nucleic acid sequence or its corresponding gene product. It is understood by those skilled in the art that the exogenous nucleic acid is expressed in a sufficient amount to produce the desired product, and it is further understood that expression levels can be optimized to obtain sufficient expression using methods well known in the art and as disclosed herein.

[0158]Directed evolution is one approach that involves the introduction of mutations targeted to a specific gene in order to improve and/or alter the properties of an enzyme. Improved and/or altered enzymes can be identified through implementation screening assays that allow for the identification of useful variants. Particularly useful screening methods include sensitive high-throughput assays that allow the automated screening of many enzyme variants (e.g., >10⁴). Iterative rounds of mutagenesis and screening typically are performed to identify an enzyme with optimized properties. The greater the number of variants screened, the higher the probability of identifying an ideally suitable variant. Computational algorithms that can help to identify areas of the gene for mutagenesis also have been developed and can significantly reduce the number of enzyme variants that need to be generated and screened.

[0159]Numerous directed evolution technologies have been developed (for reviews, see Hibbert et al., Biomol. Eng 22:11-19 (2005); Huisman and Lalonde, In Biocatalysis in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries pgs. 717-742 (2007), Patel (ed.), CRC Press; Otten and Quax. Biomol.Eng 22:1-9 (2005); and Sen et al., Appl Biochem. Biotechnol 143:212-223 (2007)) to be effective at creating diverse variant libraries and these methods have been successfully applied to the improvement of a wide range of properties across many enzyme classes.

[0160]Enzyme characteristics that have been improved and/or altered by directed evolution technologies include, for example, selectivity/specificity—for conversion of non-natural substrates; temperature stability—for robust high temperature processing; pH stability—for bioprocessing under lower or higher pH conditions; substrate or product tolerance—so that high product titers can be achieved; binding (K_m)—broadens substrate binding to include non-natural substrates; inhibition (K_i)—to remove inhibition by products, substrates, or key intermediates; activity (kcat)—increases enzymatic reaction rates to achieve desired flux; expression levels—increases protein yields and overall pathway flux; oxygen stability—for operation of air sensitive enzymes under aerobic conditions; and anaerobic activity—for operation of an aerobic enzyme in the absence of oxygen.

[0161]The following exemplary methods have been developed for the mutagenesis and diversification of genes to target desired properties of specific enzymes. Any of these can be used to alter/optimize activity of a decarboxylase enzyme.

[0162]EpPCR (Pritchard et al., J Theor. Biol 234:497-509 (2005)) introduces random point mutations by reducing the fidelity of DNA polymerase in PCR reactions by the addition of Mn²⁺ ions, by biasing dNTP concentrations, or by other conditional variations. The five step cloning process to confine the mutagenesis to the target gene of interest involves: 1) error-prone PCR amplification of the gene of interest; 2) restriction enzyme digestion; 3) gel purification of the desired DNA fragment; 4) ligation into a vector; 5) transformation of the gene variants into a suitable host and screening of the library for improved performance. This method can generate multiple mutations in a single gene simultaneously, which can be useful. A high number of mutants can be generated by EpPCR, so a high-throughput screening assay or a selection method (especially using robotics) is useful to identify those with desirable characteristics.

[0163]Error-prone Rolling Circle Amplification (epRCA) (Fujii et al., Nucleic Acids Res 32:e145 (2004); and Fujii et al., Nat. Protoc. 1:2493-2497 (2006)) has many of the same elements as epPCR except a whole circular plasmid is used as the template and random 6-mers with exonuclease resistant thiophosphate linkages on the last 2 nucleotides are used to amplify the plasmid followed by transformation into cells in which the plasmid is re-circularized at tandem repeats. Adjusting the Mn²⁺ concentration can vary the mutation rate somewhat. This technique uses a simple error-prone, single-step method to create a full copy of the plasmid with 3-4 mutations/kbp. No restriction enzyme digestion or specific primers are required. Additionally, this method is typically available as a kit.

[0164]DNA or Family Shuffling (Stemmer, Proc Natl Acad Sci U.S.A. 91:10747-10751 (1994); and Stemmer, Nature 370:389-391 (1994)) typically involves digestion of two or more variant genes with nucleases such as Dnase I or EndoV to generate a pool of random fragments that are reassembled by cycles of annealing and extension in the presence of DNA polymerase to create a library of chimeric genes. Fragments prime each other and recombination occurs when one copy primes another copy (template switch). This method can be used with >1 kbp DNA sequences. In addition to mutational recombinants created by fragment reassembly, this method introduces point mutations in the extension steps at a rate similar to error-prone PCR. The method can be used to remove deleterious, random and neutral mutations that might confer antigenicity.

[0165]Staggered Extension (StEP) (Zhao et al., Nat. Biotechnol 16:258-261 (1998)) entails template priming followed by repeated cycles of 2 step PCR with denaturation and very short duration of annealing/extension (as short as 5 sec). Growing fragments anneal to different templates and extend further, which is repeated until full-length sequences are made. Template switching means most resulting fragments have multiple parents. Combinations of low-fidelity polymerases (Taq and Mutazyme) reduce error-prone biases because of opposite mutational spectra.

[0166]In Random Priming Recombination (RPR) random sequence primers are used to generate many short DNA fragments complementary to different segments of the template. (Shao et al., Nucleic Acids Res 26:681-683 (1998)) Base misincorporation and mispriming via epPCR give point mutations. Short DNA fragments prime one another based on homology and are recombined and reassembled into full-length by repeated thermocycling. Removal of templates prior to this step assures low parental recombinants. This method, like most others, can be performed over multiple iterations to evolve distinct properties. This technology avoids sequence bias, is independent of gene length, and requires very little parent DNA for the application.

[0167]In Heteroduplex Recombination linearized plasmid DNA is used to form heteroduplexes that are repaired by mismatch repair. (Volkov et al, Nucleic Acids Res 27:e18 (1999); and Volkov et al., Methods Enzymol. 328:456-463 (2000)) The mismatch repair step is at least somewhat mutagenic. Heteroduplexes transform more efficiently than linear homoduplexes. This method is suitable for large genes and whole operons.

[0168]Random Chimeragenesis on Transient Templates (RACHITT) (Coco et al., Nat. Biotechnol 19:354-359 (2001)) employs Dnase I fragmentation and size fractionation of ssDNA. Homologous fragments are hybridized in the absence of polymerase to a complementary ssDNA scaffold. Any overlapping unhybridized fragment ends are trimmed down by an exonuclease. Gaps between fragments are filled in, and then ligated to give a pool of full-length diverse strands hybridized to the scaffold (that contains U to preclude amplification). The scaffold then is destroyed and is replaced by a new strand complementary to the diverse strand by PCR amplification. The method involves one strand (scaffold) that is from only one parent while the priming fragments derive from other genes; the parent scaffold is selected against. Thus, no reannealing with parental fragments occurs. Overlapping fragments are trimmed with an exonuclease. Otherwise, this is conceptually similar to DNA shuffling and StEP. Therefore, there should be no siblings, few inactives, and no unshuffled parentals. This technique has advantages in that few or no parental genes are created and many more crossovers can result relative to standard DNA shuffling.

[0169]Recombined Extension on Truncated templates (RETT) entails template switching of unidirectionally growing strands from primers in the presence of unidirectional ssDNA fragments used as a pool of templates. (Lee et al., J. Molec. Catalysis 26:119-129 (2003)) No DNA endonucleases are used. Unidirectional ssDNA is made by DNA polymerase with random primers or serial deletion with exonuclease. Unidirectional ssDNA are only templates and not primers. Random priming and exonucleases don't introduce sequence bias as true of enzymatic cleavage of DNA shuffling/RACHITT. RETT can be easier to optimize than StEP because it uses normal PCR conditions instead of very short extensions. Recombination occurs as a component of the PCR steps—no direct shuffling. This method can also be more random than StEP due to the absence of pauses.

[0170]In Degenerate Oligonucleotide Gene Shuffling (DOGS) degenerate primers are used to control recombination between molecules; (Bergquist and Gibbs, Methods Mol. Biol. 352:191-204 (2007); Bergquist et al., Biomol. Eng 22:63-72 (2005); Gibbs et al., Gene 271:13-20 (2001)) this can be used to control the tendency of other methods such as DNA shuffling to regenerate parental genes. This method can be combined with random mutagenesis (epPCR) of selected gene segments. This can be a good method to block the reformation of parental sequences. No endonucleases are needed. By adjusting input concentrations of segments made, one can bias towards a desired backbone. This method allows DNA shuffling from unrelated parents without restriction enzyme digests and allows a choice of random mutagenesis methods.

[0171]Incremental Truncation for the Creation of Hybrid Enzymes (ITCHY) creates a combinatorial library with 1 base pair deletions of a gene or gene fragment of interest. (Ostermeier et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci U.S.A. 96:3562-3567 (1999); and Ostermeier et al., Nat. Biotechnol 17:1205-1209 (1999)) Truncations are introduced in opposite direction on pieces of 2 different genes. These are ligated together and the fusions are cloned. This technique does not require homology between the 2 parental genes. When ITCHY is combined with DNA shuffling, the system is called SCRATCHY (see below). A major advantage of both is no need for homology between parental genes; for example, functional fusions between an E. coli and a human gene were created via ITCHY. When ITCHY libraries are made, all possible crossovers are captured.

[0172]Thio-Incremental Truncation for the Creation of Hybrid Enzymes (THIO-ITCHY) is similar to ITCHY except that phosphothioate dNTPs are used to generate truncations. (Lutz et al., Nucleic Acids Res 29:E16 (2001)) Relative to ITCHY, THIO-ITCHY can be easier to optimize, provide more reproducibility, and adjustability.

[0173]SCRATCHY combines two methods for recombining genes, ITCHY and DNA shuffling. (Lutz et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci U.S.A. 98:11248-11253 (2001)) SCRATCHY combines the best features of ITCHY and DNA shuffling. First, ITCHY is used to create a comprehensive set of fusions between fragments of genes in a DNA homology-independent fashion. This artificial family is then subjected to a DNA-shuffling step to augment the number of crossovers. Computational predictions can be used in optimization. SCRATCHY is more effective than DNA shuffling when sequence identity is below 80%.

[0174]In Random Drift Mutagenesis (RNDM) mutations made via epPCR followed by screening/selection for those retaining usable activity. (Bergquist et al., Biomol.Eng 22:63-72 (2005)) Then, these are used in DOGS to generate recombinants with fusions between multiple active mutants or between active mutants and some other desirable parent. Designed to promote isolation of neutral mutations; its purpose is to screen for retained catalytic activity whether or not this activity is higher or lower than in the original gene. RNDM is usable in high throughput assays when screening is capable of detecting activity above background. RNDM has been used as a front end to DOGS in generating diversity. The technique imposes a requirement for activity prior to shuffling or other subsequent steps; neutral drift libraries are indicated to result in higher/quicker improvements in activity from smaller libraries. Though published using epPCR, this could be applied to other large-scale mutagenesis methods.

[0175]Sequence Saturation Mutagenesis (SeSaM) is a random mutagenesis method that: 1) generates pool of random length fragments using random incorporation of a phosphothioate nucleotide and cleavage; this pool is used as a template to 2) extend in the presence of “universal” bases such as inosine; 3) replication of a inosine-containing complement gives random base incorporation and, consequently, mutagenesis. (Wong et al., Biotechnol J 3:74-82 (2008); Wong et al., Nucleic Acids Res 32:e26 (2004); and Wong et al., Anal. Biochem. 341:187-189 (2005)) Using this technique it can be possible to generate a large library of mutants within 2-3 days using simple methods. This technique is non-directed in comparison to the mutational bias of DNA polymerases. Differences in this approach makes this technique complementary (or an alternative) to epPCR.

[0176]In Synthetic Shuffling, overlapping oligonucleotides are designed to encode “all genetic diversity in targets” and allow a very high diversity for the shuffled progeny. (Ness et al., Nat. Biotechnol 20:1251-1255 (2002)) In this technique, one can design the fragments to be shuffled. This aids in increasing the resulting diversity of the progeny. One can design sequence/codon biases to make more distantly related sequences recombine at rates approaching those observed with more closely related sequences. Additionally, the technique does not require physically possessing the template genes.

[0177]Nucleotide Exchange and Excision Technology NexT exploits a combination of dUTP incorporation followed by treatment with uracil DNA glycosylase and then piperidine to perform endpoint DNA fragmentation. (Muller et al., Nucleic Acids Res 33:e117 (2005)) The gene is reassembled using internal PCR primer extension with proofreading polymerase. The sizes for shuffling are directly controllable using varying dUPT::dTTP ratios. This is an end point reaction using simple methods for uracil incorporation and cleavage. Other nucleotide analogs, such as 8-oxo-guanine, can be used with this method. Additionally, the technique works well with very short fragments (86 bp) and has a low error rate. The chemical cleavage of DNA used in this technique results in very few unshuffled clones.

[0178]In Sequence Homology-Independent Protein Recombination (SHIPREC) a linker is used to facilitate fusion between two distantly/unrelated genes. Nuclease treatment is used to generate a range of chimeras between the two genes. These fusions result in libraries of single-crossover hybrids. (Sieber et al., Nat. Biotechnol 19:456-460 (2001)) This produces a limited type of shuffling and a separate process is required for mutagenesis. In addition, since no homology is needed this technique can create a library of chimeras with varying fractions of each of the two unrelated parent genes. SHIPREC was tested with a heme-binding domain of a bacterial CP450 fused to N-terminal regions of a mammalian CP450; this produced mammalian activity in a more soluble enzyme.

[0179]In Gene Site Saturation Mutagenesis™ (GSSM™) the starting materials are a supercoiled dsDNA plasmid containing an insert and two primers which are degenerate at the desired site of mutations. (Kretz et al., Methods Enzymol. 388:3-11 (2004)) Primers carrying the mutation of interest, anneal to the same sequence on opposite strands of DNA. The mutation is typically in the middle of the primer and flanked on each side by ˜20 nucleotides of correct sequence. The sequence in the primer is NNN or NNK (coding) and MNN (noncoding) (N=all 4, K=G, T, M=A, C). After extension, DpnI is used to digest dam-methylated DNA to eliminate the wild-type template. This technique explores all possible amino acid substitutions at a given locus (i.e., one codon). The technique facilitates the generation of all possible replacements at a single-site with no nonsense codons and results in equal to near-equal representation of most possible alleles. This technique does not require prior knowledge of the structure, mechanism, or domains of the target enzyme. If followed by shuffling or Gene Reassembly, this technology creates a diverse library of recombinants containing all possible combinations of single-site up-mutations. The utility of this technology combination has been demonstrated for the successful evolution of over 50 different enzymes, and also for more than one property in a given enzyme.

[0180]Combinatorial Cassette Mutagenesis (CCM) involves the use of short oligonucleotide cassettes to replace limited regions with a large number of possible amino acid sequence alterations. (Reidhaar-Olson et al. Methods Enzymol. 208:564-586 (1991); and Reidhaar-Olson et al. Science 241:53-57 (1988)) Simultaneous substitutions at two or three sites are possible using this technique. Additionally, the method tests a large multiplicity of possible sequence changes at a limited range of sites. This technique has been used to explore the information content of the lambda repressor DNA-binding domain.

[0181]Combinatorial Multiple Cassette Mutagenesis (CMCM) is essentially similar to CCM except it is employed as part of a larger program: 1) Use of epPCR at high mutation rate to 2) ID hot spots and hot regions and then 3) extension by CMCM to cover a defined region of protein sequence space. (Reetz, M. T., S. Wilensek, D. Zha, and K. E. Jaeger, 2001, Directed Evolution of an Enantioselective Enzyme through Combinatorial Multiple-Cassette Mutagenesis. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed Engl. 40:3589-3591.) As with CCM, this method can test virtually all possible alterations over a target region. If used along with methods to create random mutations and shuffled genes, it provides an excellent means of generating diverse, shuffled proteins. This approach was successful in increasing, by 51-fold, the enantioselectivity of an enzyme.

[0182]In the Mutator Strains technique conditional is mutator plasmids allow increases of 20- to 4000-X in random and natural mutation frequency during selection and block accumulation of deleterious mutations when selection is not required. (Selifonova et al., Appl Environ Microbiol 67:3645-3649 (2001)) This technology is based on a plasmid-derived mutD5 gene, which encodes a mutant subunit of DNA polymerase III. This subunit binds to endogenous DNA polymerase III and compromises the proofreading ability of polymerase III in any strain that harbors the plasmid. A broad-spectrum of base substitutions and frameshift mutations occur. In order for effective use, the mutator plasmid should be removed once the desired phenotype is achieved; this is accomplished through a temperature sensitive origin of replication, which allows for plasmid curing at 41° C. It should be noted that mutator strains have been explored for quite some time (e.g., see Low et al., J. Mol. Biol. 260:359-3680 (1996)). In this technique very high spontaneous mutation rates are observed. The conditional property minimizes non-desired background mutations. This technology could be combined with adaptive evolution to enhance mutagenesis rates and more rapidly achieve desired phenotypes.

[0183]“Look-Through Mutagenesis (LTM) is a multidimensional mutagenesis method that assesses and optimizes combinatorial mutations of selected amino acids.” (Rajpal et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci U.S.A. 102:8466-8471 (2005)) Rather than saturating each site with all possible amino acid changes, a set of nine is chosen to cover the range of amino acid R-group chemistry. Fewer changes per site allows multiple sites to be subjected to this type of mutagenesis. A >800-fold increase in binding affinity for an antibody from low nanomolar to picomolar has been achieved through this method. This method is a rational approach to minimize the number of random combinations and can increase the ability to find improved traits by greatly decreasing the numbers of clones to be screened. This has been applied to antibody engineering, specifically to increase the binding affinity and/or reduce dissociation. The technique can be combined with either screens or selections.

[0184]Gene Reassembly is a DNA shuffling method that can be applied to multiple genes at one time or to creating a large library of chimeras (multiple mutations) of a single gene (Tunable GeneReassembly™ (TGR™) Technology supplied by Verenium Corporation). Typically this technology is used in combination with ultra-high-throughput screening to query the represented sequence space for desired improvements. This technique allows multiple gene recombinations independent of homology. The exact number and position of cross-over events can be pre-determined using fragments designed via bioinformatic analysis. This technology leads to a very high level of diversity with virtually no parental gene reformation and a low level of inactive genes. Combined with GSSM™, a large range of mutations can be tested for improved activity. The method allows “blending” and “fine tuning” of DNA shuffling, e.g. codon usage can be optimized.

[0185]In Silico Protein Design Automation (PDA) is an optimization algorithm that anchors the structurally defined protein backbone possessing a particular fold, and searches sequence space for amino acid substitutions that can stabilize the fold and overall protein energetics. (Hayes et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci U.S.A. 99:15926-15931 (2002)) This technology uses in silico structure-based entropy predictions in order to search for structural tolerance toward protein amino acid variations. Statistical mechanics is applied to calculate coupling interactions at each position. Structural tolerance toward amino acid substitution is a measure of coupling. Ultimately, this technology is designed to yield desired modifications of protein properties while maintaining the integrity of structural characteristics. The method computationally assesses and allows filtering of a very large number of possible sequence variants (10⁵⁰). The choice of sequence variants to test is related to predictions based on the most favorable thermodynamics. Ostensibly only stability or properties that are linked to stability can be effectively addressed with this technology. The method has been successfully used in some therapeutic proteins, especially in engineering immunoglobulins. In silico predictions avoid testing extraordinarily large numbers of potential variants. Predictions based on existing three-dimensional structures are more likely to succeed than predictions based on hypothetical structures. This technology can readily predict and allow targeted screening of multiple simultaneous mutations, something not possible with purely experimental technologies due to exponential increases in numbers.

[0186]Iterative Saturation Mutagenesis (ISM) involves: 1) use knowledge of structure/function to choose a likely site for enzyme improvement; 2) saturation mutagenesis at chosen site using Stratagene QuikChange (or other suitable means); 3) screen/select for desired properties; and 4) with improved clone(s), start over at another site and continue repeating. (Reetz et al., Nat. Protoc. 2:891-903 (2007); and Reetz et al., Angew.Chem.Int.Ed Engl. 45:7745-7751 (2006)) This is a proven methodology, which assures all possible replacements at a given position are made for screening/selection.

[0187]Any of the aforementioned methods for mutagenesis can be used alone or in any combination. Additionally, any one or combination of the directed evolution methods can be used in conjunction with adaptive evolution techniques.

[0188]The invention additionally provides methods for producing a desired intermediate or product such as adipate, 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid. For example, a method for producing adipate can involve culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having an adipate pathway, the pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding an adipate pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce adipate, under conditions and for a sufficient period of time to produce adipate, the adipate pathway including succinyl-CoA:acetyl-CoA acyl transferase, 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase, 3-hydroxyadipyl-CoA dehydratase, 5-carboxy-2-pentenoyl-CoA reductase, and adipyl-CoA synthetase or phosphotransadipylase/adipate kinase or adipyl-CoA:acetyl-CoA transferase or adipyl-CoA hydrolase. Additionally, a method for producing adipate can involve culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having an adipate pathway, the pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding an adipate pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce adipate, under conditions and for a sufficient period of time to produce adipate, the adipate pathway including succinyl-CoA:acetyl-CoA acyl transferase, 3-oxoadipyl-CoA transferase, 3-oxoadipate reductase, 3-hydroxyadipate dehydratase, and 2-enoate reductase.

[0189]Further, a method for producing 6-aminocaproic acid can involve culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a 6-aminocaproic acid pathway, the pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a 6-aminocaproic acid pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce 6-aminocaproic acid, under conditions and for a sufficient period of time to produce 6-aminocaproic acid, the 6-aminocaproic acid pathway including CoA-dependent aldehyde dehydrogenase and transaminase or 6-aminocaproate dehydrogenase. Additionally, a method for producing caprolactam can involve culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a caprolactam pathway, the pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a caprolactam pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce caprolactam, under conditions and for a sufficient period of time to produce caprolactam, the caprolactam pathway including CoA-dependent aldehyde dehydrogenase, transaminase or 6-aminocaproate dehydrogenase, and amidohydrolase.

[0190]The invention additionally provides methods for producing 6-aminocaproic acid (6-ACA) by culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a 6-ACA pathway described herein under conditions and for a sufficient period of time to produce 6-ACA. In one aspect the 6-ACA pathway includes an HODH aldolase; an OHED hydratase; an OHED reductase; a 2-OHD decarboxylase; and an adipate semialdehyde aminotransferase or an adipate semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating). In another aspect, the 6-ACA pathway includes an HODH aldolase; an OHED hydratase; an OHED decarboxylase; a 6-OHE reductase; and an adipate semialdehyde aminotransferase or an adipate semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating). In yet another aspect, the 6-ACA pathway includes an HODH aldolase; an OHED hydratase; an OHED aminotransferase or an OHED oxidoreductase (aminating); a 2-AHE reductase; and a 2-AHD decarboxylase. In still yet another aspect, the 6-ACA pathway includes an HODH aldolase; an OHED hydratase; an OHED reductase; a 2-OHD aminotransferase or a 2-OHD oxidoreductase (aminating); and a 2-AHD decarboxylase. In still yet another aspect, the 6-ACA pathway includes an HODH aldolase; an HODH formate-lyase and a pyruvate formate-lyase activating enzyme or an HODH dehydrogenase; a 3-hydroxyadipyl-CoA dehydratase; a 2,3-dehydroadipyl-CoA reductase; an adipyl-CoA dehydrogenase; and an adipate semialdehyde aminotransferase or an adipate semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating). In still yet another aspect, the 6-ACA pathway includes an HODH aldolase; an OHED hydratase; an OHED formate-lyase and a pyruvate formate-lyase activating enzyme or OHED dehydrogenase; a 2,3-dehydroadipyl-CoA reductase; an adipyl-CoA dehydrogenase; and an adipate semialdehyde aminotransferase or an adipate semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating). In still yet another aspect, the 6-ACA pathway includes an HODH aldolase; an OHED hydratase; an OHED reductase; a 2-OHD formate-lyase and a pyruvate formate-lyase activating enzyme or a 2-OHD dehydrogenase; an adipyl-CoA dehydrogenase; and an adipate semialdehyde aminotransferase or an adipate semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating). In a further aspect, the 6-ACA pathways described above can include a succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase, an alpha-ketoglutarate decarboxylase or a phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) carboxykinase.

[0191]The invention additionally provides methods for producing hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) by culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a HMDA pathway described herein under conditions and for a sufficient period of time to produce HMDA. In one aspect the HMDA pathway includes a 6-aminocaproate kinase; a 6-AHOP oxidoreductase; and a 6-aminocaproic semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating) or a 6-aminocaproic acid semialdehyde aminotransferase. In another aspect, the HMDA pathway includes a 6-aminocaproate kinase; a 6-AHOP acyltransferase; a 6-aminocaproyl-CoA oxidoreductase; and a 6-aminocaproic semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating) or a 6-aminocaproic acid semialdehyde aminotransferase. In yet another aspect, the HMDA pathway includes a 6-aminocaproate CoA transferase or a 6-aminocaproate CoA ligase; a 6-aminocaproyl-CoA oxidoreductase; and a 6-aminocaproic semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating) or a 6-aminocaproic acid semialdehyde aminotransferase. In still yet another aspect, the HMDA pathway includes a 6-aminocaproate N-acetyltransferase; a 6-acetamidohexanoate kinase; a 6-AAHOP oxidoreductase; a 6-acetamidohexanal aminotransferase or a 6-acetamidohexanal oxidoreductase (aminating); and a 6-acetamidohexanamine N-acetyltransferase or a 6-acetamidohexanamine hydrolase (amide). In still yet another aspect, the HMDA pathway includes a 6-aminocaproate N-acetyltransferase; a 6-acetamidohexanoate CoA transferase or a 6-acetamidohexanoate CoA ligase; a 6-acetamidohexanoyl-CoA oxidoreductase; a 6-acetamidohexanal aminotransferase or a 6-acetamidohexanal oxidoreductase (aminating); and a 6-acetamidohexanamine N-acetyltransferase or a 6-acetamidohexanamine hydrolase (amide). In still yet another aspect, the HMDA pathway includes a 6-aminocaproate N-acetyltransferase; a 6-acetamidohexanoate kinase; a 6-AAHOP oxidoreductase; a 6-acetamidohexanal aminotransferase or a 6-acetamidohexanal oxidoreductase (aminating); and a 6-acetamidohexanamine N-acetyltransferase or a 6-acetamidohexanamine hydrolase (amide).

[0192]Also, a method for producing adipate can involve culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having an adipate pathway, the pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding an adipate pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce adipate, under conditions and for a sufficient period of time to produce adipate, the adipate pathway including alpha-ketoadipyl-CoA synthetase, phosphotransketoadipylase/alpha-ketoadipate kinase or alpha-ketoadipyl-CoA:acetyl-CoA transferase; 2-hydroxyadipyl-CoA dehydrogenase; 2-hydroxyadipyl-CoA dehydratase; 5-carboxy-2-pentenoyl-CoA reductase; and adipyl-CoA synthetase, phosphotransadipylase/adipate kinase, adipyl-CoA:acetyl-CoA transferase or adipyl-CoA hydrolase. Furthermore, a method for producing adipate can involve culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having an adipate pathway, the pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding an adipate pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce adipate, under conditions and for a sufficient period of time to produce adipate, the adipate pathway including 2-hydroxyadipate dehydrogenase; 2-hydroxyadipyl-CoA synthetase, phosphotranshydroxyadipylase/2-hydroxyadipate kinase or 2-hydroxyadipyl-CoA:acetyl-CoA transferase; 2-hydroxyadipyl-CoA dehydratase; 5-carboxy-2-pentenoyl-CoA reductase; and adipyl-CoA synthetase, phosphotransadipylase/adipate kinase, adipyl-CoA:acetyl-CoA transferase or adipyl-CoA hydrolase.

[0193]As disclosed herein, the invention also provides method for producing 6-aminocaproic acid by culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a 6-aminocaproic acid pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a 6-aminocaproic acid pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce 6-aminocaproic acid, the 6-aminocaproic acid pathway including 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA thiolase; 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA reductase; 3-hydroxy-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA dehydratase; 6-aminohex-2-enoyl-CoA reductase; and 6-aminocaproyl-CoA/acyl-CoA transferase, 6-aminocaproyl-CoA synthase, or 6-aminocaproyl-CoA hydrolase (see Examples XII and XIII; steps A/B/C/D/K/L/M of FIG. 11). The invention additionally provides a method for producing 6-aminocaproic acid by culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a 6-aminocaproic acid pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a 6-aminocaproic acid pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce 6-aminocaproic acid, the 6-aminocaproic acid pathway including 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA thiolase; 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA/acyl-CoA transferase, 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA synthase, or 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA hydrolase; 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoate reductase; 3-hydroxy-6-aminohexanoate dehydratase; and 6-aminohex-2-enoate reductase (see Examples XII and XIV; steps A/E/F/G/H/I/J of FIG. 11).

[0194]In another embodiment, the invention provides a method for producing caprolactam by culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a caprolactam pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a caprolactam pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce caprolactam, the caprolactam pathway including 6-aminocaproyl-CoA/acyl-CoA transferase or 6-aminocaproyl-CoA synthase (see Examples XII and XV; steps K/L of FIG. 11). In such a method, the caprolactam can be produced by spontaneous cyclization of 6-aminocaproyl-CoA to caprolactam (see Example XII; step Q of FIG. 11). The invention also provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a hexamethylenediamine pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a hexamethylenediamine pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce hexamethylenediamine, the hexamethylenediamine pathway including 6-aminocaproyl-CoA/acyl-CoA transferase or 6-aminocaproyl-CoA synthase; 6-aminocaproyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming); and hexamethylenediamine transaminase or hexamethylenediamine dehydrogenase (see Examples XII and XVI; steps K/L/N/O/P of FIG. 11).

[0195]In yet another embodiment, the invention provides a method for producing caprolactam by culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a caprolactam pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a caprolactam pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce caprolactam, the caprolactam pathway including 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA thiolase; 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA reductase; 3-hydroxy-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA dehydratase; and 6-aminohex-2-enoyl-CoA reductase (see Examples XII and XVII; steps A/B/C/D of FIG. 11). In such a method, the caprolactam can be produced by spontaneous cyclization of 6-aminocaproyl-CoA to caprolactam (see Example XII; step Q of FIG. 11). Also provided is a method for producing hexamethylenediamine by culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a hexamethylenediamine pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a hexamethylenediamine pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce hexamethylenediamine, the hexamethylenediamine pathway including 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA thiolase; 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA reductase; 3-hydroxy-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA dehydratase; 6-aminohex-2-enoyl-CoA reductase; 6-aminocaproyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming); and hexamethylenediamine transaminase or hexamethylenediamine dehydrogenase (see Examples XII and XVIII; steps A/B/C/D/N/O/P of FIG. 11).

[0196]In yet another embodiment, the invention provides a method for producing 6-aminocaproic acid (6-ACA) by culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a 6-ACA pathway, the microbial organism including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a 6-ACA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce 6-ACA, the 6-ACA pathway including a succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase, an alpha-ketoglutarate decarboxylase, a phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) carboxykinase, a 4-hydroxy-2-oxoheptane-1,7-dioate (HODH) aldolase, a 2-oxohept-4-ene-1,7-dioate (OHED) hydratase, a 2-oxohept-4-ene-1,7-dioate (OHED) reductase, a 2-oxoheptane-1,7-dioate (2-OHD) decarboxylase, an adipate semialdehyde aminotransferase, an adipate semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating), a 2-oxohept-4-ene-1,7-dioate (OHED) decarboxylase, a 6-oxohex-4-enoate (6-OHE) reductase, a 2-oxoheptane-1,7-dioate (2-OHD) aminotransferase, a 2-oxoheptane-1,7-dioate (2-OHD) oxidoreductase (aminating), a 2-aminoheptane-1,7-dioate (2-AHD) decarboxylase, a 2-oxohept-4-ene-1,7-dioate (OHED) aminotransferase, a 2-oxohept-4-ene-1,7-dioate (OHED) oxidoreductase (aminating), a 2-aminohept-4-ene-1,7-dioate (2-AHE) reductase, a 4-hydroxy-2-oxoheptane-1,7-dioate (HODH) formate-lyase, a 4-hydroxy-2-oxoheptane-1,7-dioate (HODH) dehydrogenase, a 3-hydroxyadipyl-CoA dehydratase, a 2,3-dehydroadipyl-CoA reductase, a adipyl-CoA dehydrogenase, a 2-oxohept-4-ene-1,7-dioate (OHED) formate-lyase, a 2-oxohept-4-ene-1,7-dioate (OHED) dehydrogenase, a 2-oxoheptane-1,7-dioate (2-OHD) formate-lyase, a 2-oxoheptane-1,7-dioate (2-OHD) dehydrogenase, or a pyruvate formate-lyase activating enzyme (see Examples XIX and XXI; steps A-Q of FIG. 12).

[0197]In yet another embodiment, the invention provides a method for producing 6-aminocaproic acid (6-ACA) by culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a 6-ACA pathway, the microbial organism including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a 6-ACA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce 6-ACA. In one aspect the 6-ACA pathway includes an HODH aldolase; an OHED hydratase; an OHED reductase; a 2-OHD decarboxylase; and an adipate semialdehyde aminotransferase or an adipate semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating) (see Examples XIX and XXI; steps A/B/C/D/E of FIG. 12). In another aspect of the invention, the 6-ACA pathway includes an HODH aldolase; an OHED hydratase; an OHED decarboxylase; a 6-OHE reductase; and an adipate semialdehyde aminotransferase or an adipate semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating) (see Examples XIX and XXI; steps A/B/F/G/E of FIG. 12). In another aspect of the invention, the 6-ACA pathway includes an HODH aldolase; an OHED hydratase; an OHED aminotransferase or an OHED oxidoreductase (aminating); a 2-AHE reductase; and a 2-AHD decarboxylase (see Examples XIX and XXI; steps A/B/J/D/I of FIG. 12). In another aspect of the invention, the 6-ACA pathway includes an HODH aldolase; an OHED hydratase; an OHED reductase; a 2-OHD aminotransferase or a 2-OHD oxidoreductase (aminating); and a 2-AHD decarboxylase (see Examples XIX and XXI; steps A/B/C/H/I of FIG. 12). In another aspect of the invention, the 6-ACA pathway includes an HODH aldolase; an HODH formate-lyase and a pyruvate formate-lyase activating enzyme or an HODH dehydrogenase; a 3-hydroxyadipyl-CoA dehydratase; a 2,3-dehydroadipyl-CoA reductase; an adipyl-CoA dehydrogenase; and an adipate semialdehyde aminotransferase or an adipate semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating) (see Examples XIX and XXI; steps A/L/M/N/O/E of FIG. 12). the 6-ACA pathway includes an HODH aldolase; an OHED hydratase; an OHED formate-lyase and a pyruvate formate-lyase activating enzyme or OHED dehydrogenase; a 2,3-dehydroadipyl-CoA reductase; an adipyl-CoA dehydrogenase; and an adipate semialdehyde aminotransferase or an adipate semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating) (see Examples XIX and XXI; steps A/B/P/N/O/E of FIG. 12). In another aspect of the invention, the 6-ACA pathway includes an HODH aldolase; an OHED hydratase; an OHED reductase; a 2-OHD formate-lyase and a pyruvate formate-lyase activating enzyme or a 2-OHD dehydrogenase; an adipyl-CoA dehydrogenase; and an adipate semialdehyde aminotransferase or an adipate semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating) (see Examples XIX and XXI; steps A/B/C/Q/O/E of FIG. 12). In a further aspect, the 6-ACA pathways described above can include a succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase, an alpha-ketoglutarate decarboxylase or a phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) carboxykinase.

[0198]In yet another embodiment, the invention provides a method for producing 6-aminocaproic acid (6-ACA) by culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a 6-ACA pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a 6-ACA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce 6-ACA, the 6-ACA pathway including a glutamyl-CoA transferase, a glutamyl-CoA ligase, a beta-ketothiolase, an 3-oxo-6-aminopimeloyl-CoA oxidoreductase, a 3-hydroxy-6-aminopimeloyl-CoA dehydratase, a 6-amino-7-carboxyhept-2-enoyl-CoA reductase, a 6-aminopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming), or a 2-aminopimelate decarboxylase (see Examples XXV and XXVI; steps A/B/C/D/E/I/J of FIG. 20). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding 6-ACA pathway enzymes, where the set encode a glutamyl-CoA transferase or glutamyl-CoA ligase; a beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxo-6-aminopimeloyl-CoA oxidoreductase; a 3-hydroxy-6-aminopimeloyl-CoA dehydratase; a 6-amino-7-carboxyhept-2-enoyl-CoA reductase; a 6-aminopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming); and a 2-aminopimelate decarboxylase.

[0199]In yet another embodiment, the invention provides a method for producing 6-aminocaproic acid (6-ACA) by culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a 6-ACA pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a 6-ACA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce 6-ACA, the 6-ACA pathway including a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase, a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase, 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase, a 3-aminopimelate 2,3-aminomutase, or a 2-aminopimelate decarboxylase (see Examples XXV and XXVI; steps A/B/J/T/AA of FIG. 21). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding 6-ACA pathway enzymes, where the set encode a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase or 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-aminopimelate 2,3-aminomutase; and a 2-aminopimelate decarboxylase.

[0200]In yet another embodiment, the invention provides a method for producing 6-aminocaproic acid (6-ACA) by culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a 6-ACA pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a 6-ACA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce 6-ACA, the 6-ACA pathway including a homolysine 2-monooxygenase (see Examples XXV and XXVI; steps A of FIG. 23). In a further aspect, the 6-ACA pathway includes hydrolysis of the 6-aminohexanamide product by a dilute acid or base to convert 6-aminohexanamide to 6-aminocaproate (see Example XXV; steps B of FIG. 23).

[0201]In yet another embodiment, the invention provides a method for producing 6-aminocaproic acid (6-ACA) by culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a 6-ACA pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a 6-ACA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce 6-ACA, the 6-ACA pathway including an adipate reductase, an adipate kinase or an adipylphosphate reductase (see Example)(XVIII; steps X/Y/Z of FIG. 25). In a further aspect, the 6-ACA pathway includes an adipate reductase. In another further aspect, the 6-ACA pathway includes an adipate kinase and an adipylphosphate reductase. In still another aspect, the microbial organism having the 6-aminocaproic acid (6-ACA) pathway above further comprises an adipate pathway, a caprolactam pathway and/or a hexamethylenediamine pathway described here (see Example)(XVIII; steps A-W of FIG. 25).

[0202]In yet another embodiment, the invention provides a method for producing 6-aminocaproic acid (6-ACA) by culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a 6-aminocaproic acid (6-ACA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a 6-ACA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce 6-ACA, the 6-ACA pathway including a 2-amino-7-oxosubarate keto-acid decarboxylase, a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate decarboxylase, a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate oxidoreductase, a 2-aminopimelate decarboxylase, a 6-aminohexanal oxidoreductase, a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate decarboxylase, or a 2-amino-7-oxosubarate amino acid decarboxylase (see Examples XXV and XXVI; steps A/B/D/E/F/G/I of FIG. 26). In a further aspect, the microbial organism has a 2-amino-7-oxosubarate pathway having at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a 2-amino-7-oxosubarate pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce 2-amino-7-oxosubarate, the 2-amino-7-oxosubarate pathway including a 2-amino-5-hydroxy-7-oxosubarate aldolase, a 2-amino-5-hydroxy-7-oxosubarate dehydratase, or a 2-amino-5-ene-7-oxosubarate reductase (see Examples XXV and XXVI; steps A/B/C of FIG. 27).

[0203]In another embodiment of the invention, the invention provides a method for producing 6-aminocaproic acid (6-ACA) by culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a 6-aminocaproic acid (6-ACA) pathway including a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding 6-ACA pathway enzymes, where the set encodes a 2-amino-7-oxosubarate keto-acid decarboxylase; a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate oxidoreductase; and a 2-aminopimelate decarboxylase (see Example XXV; steps A/D/E of FIG. 26). In yet another embodiment of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding 6-ACA pathway enzymes, where the set encodes a 2-amino-7-oxosubarate keto-acid decarboxylase; a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate decarboxylase; and a 6-aminohexanal oxidoreductase (see Example XXV; steps A/B/F of FIG. 26). In still yet another embodiment of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding 6-ACA pathway enzymes, where the set encodes a 2-amino-7-oxosubarate amino acid decarboxylase; a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate decarboxylase; and a 6-aminohexanal oxidoreductase (see Example XXV; steps I/G/F of FIG. 26). In a further aspect of each of the above embodiments, the microbial organism has a 2-amino-7-oxosubarate pathway having a second set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding 2-amino-7-oxosubarate pathway enzymes expressed in a sufficient amount to produce 2-amino-7-oxosubarate, the 2-amino-7-oxosubarate pathway including a 2-amino-5-hydroxy-7-oxosubarate aldolase; a 2-amino-5-hydroxy-7-oxosubarate dehydratase; and a 2-amino-5-ene-7-oxosubarate reductase (see Examples XXV and XXVI; steps A/B/C of FIG. 27).

[0204]In yet another embodiment, the invention provides a method for producing hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) by culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a HMDA pathway, the microbial organism including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a 6-aminocaproate kinase, an [(6-aminohexanoyl)oxy]phosphonate (6-AHOP) oxidoreductase, a 6-aminocaproic semialdehyde aminotransferase, a 6-aminocaproic semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating), a 6-aminocaproate N-acetyltransferase, a 6-acetamidohexanoate kinase, an [(6-acetamidohexanoyl)oxy]phosphonate (6-AAHOP) oxidoreductase, a 6-acetamidohexanal aminotransferase, a 6-acetamidohexanal oxidoreductase (aminating), a 6-acetamidohexanamine N-acetyltransferase, a 6-acetamidohexanamine hydrolase (amide), a 6-acetamidohexanoate CoA transferase, a 6-acetamidohexanoate CoA ligase, a 6-acetamidohexanoyl-CoA oxidoreductase, a [(6-acetamidohexanoyl)oxy]phosphonate (6-AAHOP) acyltransferase, a [(6-aminohexanoyl)oxy]phosphonate (6-AHOP) acyltransferase, a 6-aminocaproate CoA transferase and a 6-aminocaproate CoA ligase (see Examples XX and XXI; steps A-N of FIG. 13).

[0205]In yet another embodiment, the invention provides a method for producing hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) by culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a HMDA pathway, the microbial organism including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA. In one aspect the HMDA pathway includes a 6-aminocaproate kinase; a 6-AHOP oxidoreductase; and a 6-aminocaproic semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating) or a 6-aminocaproic acid semialdehyde aminotransferase (see Examples XX and XXI; steps A/B/C of FIG. 13). In another aspect of the invention, the HMDA pathway includes a 6-aminocaproate kinase; a 6-AHOP acyltransferase; a 6-aminocaproyl-CoA oxidoreductase; and a 6-aminocaproic semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating) or a 6-aminocaproic acid semialdehyde aminotransferase (see Examples XX and XXI; steps A/L/N/C of FIG. 13). In another aspect of the invention, the HMDA pathway includes a 6-aminocaproate CoA transferase or a 6-aminocaproate CoA ligase; a 6-aminocaproyl-CoA oxidoreductase; and a 6-aminocaproic semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating) or a 6-aminocaproic acid semialdehyde aminotransferase (see Examples XX and XXI; steps M/N/C of FIG. 13). In another aspect of the invention, the HMDA pathway includes a 6-aminocaproate N-acetyltransferase; a 6-acetamidohexanoate kinase; a 6-AAHOP oxidoreductase; a 6-acetamidohexanal aminotransferase or a 6-acetamidohexanal oxidoreductase (aminating); and a 6-acetamidohexanamine N-acetyltransferase or a 6-acetamidohexanamine hydrolase (amide) (see Examples XX and XXI; steps D/E/F/G/H of FIG. 13). In another aspect of the invention, the HMDA pathway includes a 6-aminocaproate N-acetyltransferase; a 6-acetamidohexanoate CoA transferase or a 6-acetamidohexanoate CoA ligase; a 6-acetamidohexanoyl-CoA oxidoreductase; a 6-acetamidohexanal aminotransferase or a 6-acetamidohexanal oxidoreductase (aminating); and a 6-acetamidohexanamine N-acetyltransferase or a 6-acetamidohexanamine hydrolase (amide) (see Examples XX and XXI; steps D/I/J/G/H of FIG. 13). In another aspect of the invention, the HMDA pathway includes a 6-aminocaproate N-acetyltransferase; a 6-acetamidohexanoate kinase; a 6-AAHOP oxidoreductase; a 6-acetamidohexanal aminotransferase or a 6-acetamidohexanal oxidoreductase (aminating); and a 6-acetamidohexanamine N-acetyltransferase or a 6-acetamidohexanamine hydrolase (amide) (see Examples XX and XXI; steps D/E/K/J/G of FIG. 13).

[0206]In yet another embodiment, the invention provides a method for producing hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) by culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a HMDA pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a glutamyl-CoA transferase, a glutamyl-CoA ligase, a beta-ketothiolase, an 3-oxo-6-aminopimeloyl-CoA oxidoreductase, a 3-hydroxy-6-aminopimeloyl-CoA dehydratase, a 6-amino-7-carboxyhept-2-enoyl-CoA reductase, a 6-aminopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming), a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminotransferase, a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase, or a homolysine decarboxylase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; steps A-H of FIG. 20). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a glutamyl-CoA transferase or ligase; a beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxo-6-aminopimeloyl-CoA oxidoreductase; a 3-hydroxy-6-aminopimeloyl-CoA dehydratase; a 6-amino-7-carboxyhept-2-enoyl-CoA reductase; a 6-aminopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming); a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminotransferase or aminating oxidoreductase; and a homolysine decarboxylase.

[0207]In yet another embodiment, the invention provides a method for producing hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) by culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a HMDA pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase, a 3-oxopimelate reductase, a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal aminotransferase, a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal aminating oxidoreductase, a 3-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate 3-aminotransferase, a 3-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate 3-aminating oxidoreductase, a 3-oxopimelate kinase, a 5-oxopimeloylphosphonate reductase, a 3-oxopimelate CoA transferase, a 3-oxopimelate ligase, a 5-oxopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming), a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase, a 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase, a 3-aminopimelate CoA transferase, a 3-aminopimelate ligase, a 5-aminopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming), a 3-aminopimelate kinase, a 5-aminopimeloylphosphonate reductase, a 3-aminopimelate reductase, a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase, a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase, a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase, a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase, a homolysine decarboxylase, a 3-aminopimelate 2,3-aminomutase, a 2-aminopimelate kinase, a 2-aminopimelate CoA transferase, a 2-aminopimelate CoA ligase, a 2-aminopimelate reductase, a 6-aminopimeloylphosphonate reductase, a 6-aminopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming), a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase or a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; FIG. 21).

[0208]In yet another embodiment, the invention provides a method for producing hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) by culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a HMDA pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase, a 3-oxopimelate reductase, a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 7-aminotransferase, a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 7-aminating oxidoreductase, a 3-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate 3-aminotransferase, a 3-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate 3-aminating oxidoreductase, a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase, or a homolysine decarboxylase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; steps A/B/C/D/E/R/S of FIG. 21). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate reductase; a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 7-aminotransferase or a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 7-aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate 3-aminotransferase or a 3-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate 3-aminating oxidoreductase; a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase; and a homolysine decarboxylase.

[0209]In yet another embodiment, the invention provides a method for producing hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) by culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a HMDA pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase, a 3-oxopimelate kinase, a 5-oxopimeloylphosphonate reductase, a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 7-aminotransferase, a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 7-aminating oxidoreductase, a 3-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate 3-aminotransferase, a 3-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate 3-aminating oxidoreductase, a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase, or a homolysine decarboxylase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; steps A/B/F/G/D/E/R/S of FIG. 21). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate kinase; a 5-oxopimeloylphosphonate reductase; a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 7-aminotransferase or a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 7-aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate 3-aminotransferase or a 3-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate 3-aminating oxidoreductase; a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase; and a homolysine decarboxylase.

[0210]In yet another embodiment, the invention provides a method for producing hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) by culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a HMDA pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase, a 3-oxopimelate CoA transferase, 3-oxopimelate CoA ligase, a 5-oxopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming), a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 7-aminotransferase, 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 7-aminating oxidoreductase, a 3-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate 3-aminotransferase, a 3-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate 3-aminating oxidoreductase, a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase, or a homolysine decarboxylase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; steps A/B/H/I/D/E/R/S of FIG. 21). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate CoA transferase or 3-oxopimelate CoA ligase; a 5-oxopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming); a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 7-aminotransferase or 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 7-aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate 3-aminotransferase or a 3-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate 3-aminating oxidoreductase; a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase; and a homolysine decarboxylase.

[0211]In yet another embodiment, the invention provides a method for producing hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) by culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a HMDA pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase, a 3-oxopimelate reductase, a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 3-aminotransferase, a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 3-aminating oxidoreductase, a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase, a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminating oxidoreductase, a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase, or a homolysine decarboxylase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; steps A/B/C/AB/Z/R/S of FIG. 21). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate reductase; a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 3-aminotransferase or a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 3-aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase or a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminating oxidoreductase; a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase; and a homolysine decarboxylase.

[0212]In yet another embodiment, the invention provides a method for producing hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) by culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a HMDA pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase, 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase, a 3-oxopimelate kinase, a 5-oxopimeloylphosphonate reductase, a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 3-aminotransferase, a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 3-aminating oxidoreductase, a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase, a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminating oxidoreductase, a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase, or a homolysine decarboxylase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; steps A/B/H/I/AB/Z/R/S of FIG. 21). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate kinase; a 5-oxopimeloylphosphonate reductase; a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 3-aminotransferase or a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 3-aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase or a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminating oxidoreductase; a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase; and a homolysine decarboxylase.

[0213]In yet another embodiment, the invention provides a method for producing hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) by culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a HMDA pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase, a 3-oxopimelate CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimelate CoA ligase, a 5-oxopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming), a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 3-aminotransferase, a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 3-aminating oxidoreductase, a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase, 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminating oxidoreductase, a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase, or a homolysine decarboxylase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; steps A/B/F/G/AB/Z/R/S of FIG. 21). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimelate CoA ligase; a 5-oxopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming); a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 3-aminotransferase or a 3-oxo-1-carboxyheptanal 3-aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase or 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminating oxidoreductase; a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase; and a homolysine decarboxylase.

[0214]In yet another embodiment, the invention provides a method for producing hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) by culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a HMDA pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase, a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase or a 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase, a 3-aminopimelate reductase, a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase, a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase, a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase, or a homolysine decarboxylase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; steps A/B//J/O/P/Q/S of FIG. 21). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase or a 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-aminopimelate reductase; a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase; a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase or a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase; and a homolysine decarboxylase.

[0215]In yet another embodiment, the invention provides a method for producing hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) by culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a HMDA pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase, a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase or a 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase, a 3-aminopimelate kinase, a 5-aminopimeloylphosphonate reductase, a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase, a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase, a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase, or a homolysine decarboxylase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; steps A/B/J/M/N/P/Q/S of FIG. 21). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase or a 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-aminopimelate kinase; a 5-aminopimeloylphosphonate reductase; a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase; a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase or a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase; and a homolysine decarboxylase.

[0216]In yet another embodiment, the invention provides a method for producing hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) by culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a HMDA pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase, a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase, a 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase, a 3-aminopimelate CoA transferase, a 3-aminopimelate CoA ligase, a 5-aminopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming), a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase, a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase, 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase, or a homolysine decarboxylase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; steps A/B/J/K/L/P/Q/S of FIG. 21). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase or a 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-aminopimelate CoA transferase or a 3-aminopimelate CoA ligase; a 5-aminopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming); a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase; a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase or 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase; and a homolysine decarboxylase.

[0217]In yet another embodiment, the invention provides a method for producing hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) by culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a HMDA pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase, a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase, 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase, a 3-aminopimelate reductase, a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase, 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminating oxidoreductase, a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase, or a homolysine decarboxylase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; steps A/B/J/O/Z/R/S of FIG. 21). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase or 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-aminopimelate reductase; a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase or 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate l-aminating oxidoreductase; a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase; and a homolysine decarboxylase.

[0218]In yet another embodiment, the invention provides a method for producing hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) by culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a HMDA pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase, a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase, a 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase, a 3-aminopimelate CoA transferase, a 3-aminopimelate CoA ligase, a 5-aminopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming), a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase, 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase, a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase, or a homolysine decarboxylase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; steps A/B/J/K/L/Z/R/S of FIG. 21). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase or a 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-aminopimelate CoA transferase or a 3-aminopimelate CoA ligase; a 5-aminopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming); a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase or 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase; a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase; and a homolysine decarboxylase.

[0219]In yet another embodiment, the invention provides a method for producing hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) by culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a HMDA pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase, a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase, a 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase, a 3-aminopimelate kinase, a 5-aminopimeloylphosphonate reductase, a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase, a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase, a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase, or a homolysine decarboxylase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; steps A/B/J/M/N/Z/R/S of FIG. 21). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase or a 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-aminopimelate kinase; a 5-aminopimeloylphosphonate reductase; a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase or a 3-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase; a 3,7-diaminoheptanoate 2,3-aminomutase; and a homolysine decarboxylase.

[0220]In yet another embodiment, the invention provides a method for producing hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) by culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a HMDA pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase, a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase, 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase, a 3-aminopimelate 2,3-aminomutase, a 2-aminopimelate reductase, a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase, a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase, or a homolysine decarboxylase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; steps A/B/J/T/W/Q/S of FIG. 21). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase or 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-aminopimelate 2,3-aminomutase; a 2-aminopimelate reductase; a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase or a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase; and a homolysine decarboxylase.

[0221]In yet another embodiment, the invention provides a method for producing hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) by culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a HMDA pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase, a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase, a 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase, a 3-aminopimelate 2,3-aminomutase, a 2-aminopimelate kinase, a 6-aminopimeloylphosphonate reductase, a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase, a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase, or a homolysine decarboxylase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; steps A/B/J/T/U/X/Q/S of FIG. 21). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase or a 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-aminopimelate 2,3-aminomutase; a 2-aminopimelate kinase; a 6-aminopimeloylphosphonate reductase; a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase or a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase; and a homolysine decarboxylase.

[0222]In yet another embodiment, the invention provides a method for producing hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) by culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a HMDA pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase, a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase, a 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase, a 3-aminopimelate 2,3-aminomutase, a 2-aminopimelate CoA transferase, 2-aminopimelate CoA ligase, a 6-aminopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming), a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase, 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase, or a homolysine decarboxylase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; steps A/B/J/T/V/Y/Q/S of FIG. 21). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a glutaryl-CoA beta-ketothiolase; a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA hydrolase, a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA transferase or a 3-oxopimeloyl-CoA ligase; a 3-oxopimelate aminotransferase or a 3-oxopimelate aminating oxidoreductase; a 3-aminopimelate 2,3-aminomutase; a 2-aminopimelate CoA transferase or 2-aminopimelate CoA ligase; a 6-aminopimeloyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming); a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate 7-aminotransferase or 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase; and a homolysine decarboxylase.

[0223]The invention additionally provides a method for producing hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) by culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a 2-oxo-4-hydroxy-7-aminoheptanoate aldolase, a 2-oxo-4-hydroxy-7-aminoheptanoate dehydratase, a 2-oxo-7-aminohept-3-enoate reductase, a 2-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate aminotransferase, a 2-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate aminotransferase aminating oxidoreductase, a homolysine decarboxylase, a 2-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate decarboxylase, a 6-aminohexanal aminotransferase or 6-aminohexanal aminating oxidoreductase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; steps A-G of FIG. 22). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a 2-oxo-4-hydroxy-7-aminoheptanoate aldolase; a 2-oxo-4-hydroxy-7-aminoheptanoate dehydratase; a 2-oxo-7-aminohept-3-enoate reductase; a 2-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate aminotransferase or a 2-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase; and a homolysine decarboxylase. In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a 2-oxo-4-hydroxy-7-aminoheptanoate aldolase; a 2-oxo-4-hydroxy-7-aminoheptanoate dehydratase; a 2-oxo-7-aminohept-3-enoate reductase; a 2-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate decarboxylase; and a 6-aminohexanal aminotransferase or a 6-aminohexanal aminating oxidoreductase.

[0224]The invention additionally provides a method for producing hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) by culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a 6-aminocaproate reductase, a 6-aminocaproic semialdehyde aminotransferase, a 6-aminocaproic semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating), 6-aminocaproate N-acetyltransferase, a 6-acetamidohexanoate reductase, 6-acetamidohexanal aminotransferase, 6-acetamidohexanal oxidoreductase (aminating), 6-acetamidohexanamine N-acetyltransferase or acetamidohexanamine hydrolase (amide) (see Example XXVII; steps O/C or D/P/G/H of FIG. 24). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a 6-aminocaproate reductase; and a 6-aminocaproic semialdehyde aminotransferase or a 6-aminocaproic semialdehyde oxidoreductase (aminating). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes 6-aminocaproate N-acetyltransferase; 6-acetamidohexanoate reductase; 6-acetamidohexanal aminotransferase or 6-acetamidohexanal oxidoreductase (aminating); and 6-acetamidohexanamine N-acetyltransferase or 6-acetamidohexanamine hydrolase (amide).

[0225]The invention additionally provides a method for producing hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) by culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a HMDA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce HMDA, the HMDA pathway including a 2-amino-7-oxosubarate keto-acid decarboxylase, a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate decarboxylase, a 6-aminohexanal aminating oxidoreductase, a 6-aminohexanal aminotransferase, a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminotransferase, a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase, a 2-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate decarboxylase, a homolysine decarboxylase, a 2-amino-7-oxosubarate amino acid decarboxylase, a 2-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase, a 2-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate aminotransferase, a 2-amino-7-oxosubarate aminating oxidoreductase, a 2-amino-7-oxosubarate aminotransferase or a 2,7-diaminosubarate decarboxylase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; Steps A/B/C/G/H/I/J/K/L/M of FIG. 26). In a further aspect, the microbial organism has a 2-amino-7-oxosubarate pathway having at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a 2-amino-7-oxosubarate pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce 2-amino-7-oxosubarate, the 2-amino-7-oxosubarate pathway including a 2-amino-5-hydroxy-7-oxosubarate aldolase, a 2-amino-5-hydroxy-7-oxosubarate dehydratase, or a 2-amino-5-ene-7-oxosubarate reductase (see Examples XXV and XXVI; steps A/B/C of FIG. 27).

[0226]In another embodiment, the invention provides a method for producing hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) by culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) pathway including a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a 2-amino-7-oxosubarate aminating oxidoreductase or 2-amino-7-oxosubarate aminotransferase; a 2,7-diaminosubarate decarboxylase; and a homolysine decarboxylase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; steps K/L/H of FIG. 26). In another embodiment of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a 2-amino-7-oxosubarate amino acid decarboxylase; a 2-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase or a 2-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate aminotransferase; and a homolysine decarboxylase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; steps I/J/H of FIG. 26). In another embodiment of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a 2-amino-7-oxosubarate amino acid decarboxylase; a 2-oxo-7-aminoheptanoate decarboxylase; and a 6-aminohexanal aminating oxidoreductase or a 6-aminohexanal aminotransferase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; steps I/G/C of FIG. 26). In another embodiment of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a 2-amino-7-oxosubarate keto-acid decarboxylase; a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate decarboxylase; and a 6-aminohexanal aminating oxidoreductase or a 6-aminohexanal aminotransferase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; steps A/B/C of FIG. 26). In another embodiment of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding HMDA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a 2-amino-7-oxosubarate keto-acid decarboxylase; a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminating oxidoreductase or a 2-amino-7-oxoheptanoate aminotransferase; and a homolysine decarboxylase (see Examples XXIV and XXVI; steps A/M/H of FIG. 26). In a further aspect of each of the above embodiments, the microbial organism has a 2-amino-7-oxosubarate pathway having a second set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding 2-amino-7-oxosubarate pathway enzymes expressed in a sufficient amount to produce 2-amino-7-oxosubarate, the 2-amino-7-oxosubarate pathway including a 2-amino-5-hydroxy-7-oxosubarate aldolase; a 2-amino-5-hydroxy-7-oxosubarate dehydratase; and a 2-amino-5-ene-7-oxosubarate reductase (see Examples XXV and XXVI; steps A/B/C of FIG. 27).

[0227]The invention additionally provides a method for producing hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) by culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism having a levulinic acid (LA) pathway including at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a LA pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce LA, the LA pathway including a 3-oxoadipyl-CoA thiolase, a 3-oxoadipyl-CoA/acyl-CoA transferase, a 3-oxoadipyl-CoA synthase, a 3-oxoadipyl-CoA hydrolase, or a 3-oxoadipate decarboxylase (see Example XXIX; steps A/E/F/G/AA of FIG. 25). In another aspect of the invention, the non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a set of exogenous nucleic acids encoding LA pathway enzymes, wherein the set encodes a 3-oxoadipyl-CoA thiolase; a 3-oxoadipyl-CoA/acyl-CoA transferase, a 3-oxoadipyl-CoA synthase, or a 3-oxoadipyl-CoA hydrolase; and a 3-oxoadipate decarboxylase.

[0228]The invention further provides methods of producing non-naturally microbial organisms having increased production of adipate, 6-ACA and/or HMDA by disruption of one or more genes to confer increased production of adiate, 6-ACA and/or HMDA. Such gene disruptions include those exemplified herein in Example XXX and Tables 14-16.

[0229]The invention additionally provides a method for producing adipate, 6-ACA and/or HMDA that includes culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism that includes one or more gene disruptions that confer increased production of adiapte, 6-ACA and/or HMDA. The disruptions can occur in genes encoding an enzyme obligatory to coupling adipate, 6-ACA and/or HMDA production to growth of the microorganism when the gene disruption reduces an activity of the enzyme, such that the disruptions confer stable growth-coupled production of adipate, 6-ACA and/or HMDA onto the non-naturally microbial organism.

[0230]In some embodiments, the gene disruption can include a complete gene deletion. Methods for gene disruption are well known to those skilled in the art and are described herein (see Example XXX). In some embodiments other methods to disrupt a gene include, for example, frameshifting by omission, addition of oligonucleotides or by mutations that render the gene inoperable. One skilled in the art will recognize the advantages of gene deletions, however, because of the stability it can confer to the non-naturally occurring organism from reverting to a phenotype expressing the previously disrupted gene. In particular, the gene disruptions are selected from the gene sets that described in Tables 14-16.

[0231]Suitable purification and/or assays to test for the production of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid can be performed using well known methods. Suitable replicates such as triplicate cultures can be grown for each engineered strain to be tested. For example, product and byproduct formation in the engineered production host can be monitored. The final product and intermediates, and other organic compounds, can be analyzed by methods such as HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography), GC-MS (Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy) and LC-MS (Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy) or other suitable analytical methods using routine procedures well known in the art. The release of product in the fermentation broth can also be tested with the culture supernatant. Byproducts and residual glucose can be quantified by HPLC using, for example, a refractive index detector for glucose and alcohols, and a UV detector for organic acids (Lin et al., Biotechnol. Bioeng. 90:775-779 (2005)), or other suitable assay and detection methods well known in the art. The individual enzyme activities from the exogenous DNA sequences can also be assayed using methods well known in the art.

[0232]The 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid can be separated from other components in the culture using a variety of methods well known in the art. Such separation methods include, for example, extraction procedures as well as methods that include continuous liquid-liquid extraction, pervaporation, membrane filtration, membrane separation, reverse osmosis, electrodialysis, distillation, crystallization, centrifugation, extractive filtration, ion exchange chromatography, size exclusion chromatography, adsorption chromatography, and ultrafiltration. All of the above methods are well known in the art.

[0233]Any of the non-naturally occurring microbial organisms described herein can be cultured to produce and/or secrete the biosynthetic products of the invention. For example, the 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid producers can be cultured for the biosynthetic production of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid.

[0234]For the production of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid, the recombinant strains are cultured in a medium with carbon source and other essential nutrients. It is sometimes desirable and can be highly desirable to maintain anaerobic conditions in the fermenter to reduce the cost of the overall process. Such conditions can be obtained, for example, by first sparging the medium with nitrogen and then sealing the flasks with a septum and crimp-cap. For strains where growth is not observed anaerobically, microaerobic or substantially anaerobic conditions can be applied by perforating the septum with a small hole for limited aeration. Exemplary anaerobic conditions have been described previously and are well-known in the art. Exemplary aerobic and anaerobic conditions are described, for example, in United State publication 2009/0047719 (Ser. No. 11/891,602), filed Aug. 10, 2007. Fermentations can be performed in a batch, fed-batch or continuous manner, as disclosed herein.

[0235]If desired, the pH of the medium can be maintained at a desired pH, in particular neutral pH, such as a pH of around 7 by addition of a base, such as NaOH or other bases, or acid, as needed to maintain the culture medium at a desirable pH. The growth rate can be determined by measuring optical density using a spectrophotometer (600 nm), and the glucose uptake rate by monitoring carbon source depletion over time.

[0236]The growth medium can include, for example, any carbohydrate source which can supply a source of carbon to the non-naturally occurring microorganism. Such sources include, for example, sugars such as glucose, xylose, arabinose, galactose, mannose, fructose, sucrose and starch. Other sources of carbohydrate include, for example, renewable feedstocks and biomass. Exemplary types of biomasses that can be used as feedstocks in the methods of the invention include cellulosic biomass, hemicellulosic biomass and lignin feedstocks or portions of feedstocks. Such biomass feedstocks contain, for example, carbohydrate substrates useful as carbon sources such as glucose, xylose, arabinose, galactose, mannose, fructose and starch. Given the teachings and guidance provided herein, those skilled in the art will understand that renewable feedstocks and biomass other than those exemplified above also can be used for culturing the microbial organisms of the invention for the production of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid.

[0237]In addition to renewable feedstocks such as those exemplified above, the 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid microbial organisms of the invention also can be modified for growth on syngas as its source of carbon. In this specific embodiment, one or more proteins or enzymes are expressed in the 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid producing organisms to provide a metabolic pathway for utilization of syngas or other gaseous carbon source.

[0238]Synthesis gas, also known as syngas or producer gas, is the major product of gasification of coal and of carbonaceous materials such as biomass materials, including agricultural crops and residues. Syngas is a mixture primarily of H₂ and CO and can be obtained from the gasification of any organic feedstock, including but not limited to coal, coal oil, natural gas, biomass, and waste organic matter. Gasification is generally carried out under a high fuel to oxygen ratio. Although largely H₂ and CO, syngas can also include CO₂ and other gases in smaller quantities. Thus, synthesis gas provides a cost effective source of gaseous carbon such as CO and, additionally, CO₂.

[0239]The Wood-Ljungdahl pathway catalyzes the conversion of CO and H₂ to acetyl-CoA and other products such as acetate. Organisms capable of utilizing CO and syngas also generally have the capability of utilizing CO₂ and CO₂/H₂ mixtures through the same basic set of enzymes and transformations encompassed by the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway. H₂-dependent conversion of CO₂ to acetate by microorganisms was recognized long before it was revealed that CO also could be used by the same organisms and that the same pathways were involved. Many acetogens have been shown to grow in the presence of CO₂ and produce compounds such as acetate as long as hydrogen is present to supply the necessary reducing equivalents (see for example, Drake, Acetogenesis, pp. 3-60 Chapman and Hall, New York, (1994)). This can be summarized by the following equation:

2CO₂+4H₂+nADP+nPi→CH₃COOH+2H₂O+nATP

[0240]Hence, non-naturally occurring microorganisms possessing the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway can utilize CO₂ and H₂ mixtures as well for the production of acetyl-CoA and other desired products.

[0241]The Wood-Ljungdahl pathway is well known in the art and consists of 12 reactions which can be separated into two branches: (1) methyl branch and (2) carbonyl branch. The methyl branch converts syngas to methyl-tetrahydrofolate (methyl-THF) whereas the carbonyl branch converts methyl-THF to acetyl-CoA. The reactions in the methyl branch are catalyzed in order by the following enzymes: ferredoxin oxidoreductase, formate dehydrogenase, formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase, methenyltetrahydrofolate cyclodehydratase, methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase and methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase. The reactions in the carbonyl branch are catalyzed in order by the following enzymes or proteins: cobalamide corrinoid/iron-sulfur protein, methyltransferase, carbon monoxide dehydrogenase, acetyl-CoA synthase, acetyl-CoA synthase disulfide reductase and hydrogenase, and these enzymes can also be referred to as methyltetrahydrofolate:corrinoid protein methyltransferase (for example, AcsE), corrinoid iron-sulfur protein, nickel-protein assembly protein (for example, AcsF), ferredoxin, acetyl-CoA synthase, carbon monoxide dehydrogenase and nickel-protein assembly protein (for example, CooC). Following the teachings and guidance provided herein for introducing a sufficient number of encoding nucleic acids to generate a 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid pathway, those skilled in the art will understand that the same engineering design also can be performed with respect to introducing at least the nucleic acids encoding the Wood-Ljungdahl enzymes or proteins absent in the host organism. Therefore, introduction of one or more encoding nucleic acids into the microbial organisms of the invention such that the modified organism contains the complete Wood-Ljungdahl pathway will confer syngas utilization ability.

[0242]Additionally, the reductive (reverse) tricarboxylic acid cycle coupled with carbon monoxide dehydrogenase and/or hydrogenase activities can also be used for the conversion of CO, CO₂ and/or H₂ to acetyl-CoA and other products such as acetate. Organisms capable of fixing carbon via the reductive TCA pathway can utilize one or more of the following enzymes: ATP citrate-lyase, citrate lyase, aconitase, isocitrate dehydrogenase, alpha-ketoglutarate:ferredoxin oxidoreductase, succinyl-CoA synthetase, succinyl-CoA transferase, fumarate reductase, fumarase, malate dehydrogenase, NAD(P)H:ferredoxin oxidoreductase, carbon monoxide dehydrogenase, and hydrogenase. Specifically, the reducing equivalents extracted from CO and/or H₂ by carbon monoxide dehydrogenase and hydrogenase are utilized to fix CO₂ via the reductive TCA cycle into acetyl-CoA or acetate. Acetate can be converted to acetyl-CoA by enzymes such as acetyl-CoA transferase, acetate kinase/phosphotransacetylase, and acetyl-CoA synthetase. Acetyl-CoA can be converted to the p-toluate, terepathalate, or (2-hydroxy-3-methyl-4-oxobutoxy)phosphonate precursors, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate, phosphoenolpyruvate, and pyruvate, by pyruvate:ferredoxin oxidoreductase and the enzymes of gluconeogenesis. Following the teachings and guidance provided herein for introducing a sufficient number of encoding nucleic acids to generate a p-toluate, terephthalate or (2-hydroxy-3-methyl-4-oxobutoxy)phosphonate pathway, those skilled in the art will understand that the same engineering design also can be performed with respect to introducing at least the nucleic acids encoding the reductive TCA pathway enzymes or proteins absent in the host organism. Therefore, introduction of one or more encoding nucleic acids into the microbial organisms of the invention such that the modified organism contains the complete reductive TCA pathway will confer syngas utilization ability.

[0243]Given the teachings and guidance provided herein, those skilled in the art will understand that a non-naturally occurring microbial organism can be produced that secretes the biosynthesized compounds of the invention when grown on a carbon source such as a carbohydrate. Such compounds include, for example, 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid and any of the intermediate metabolites in the 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid pathway. All that is required is to engineer in one or more of the required enzyme activities to achieve biosynthesis of the desired compound or intermediate including, for example, inclusion of some or all of the 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid biosynthetic pathways. Accordingly, the invention provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism that produces and/or secretes 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid when grown on a carbohydrate and produces and/or secretes any of the intermediate metabolites shown in the 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid pathway when grown on a carbohydrate. For example, an adipate producing microbial organisms can initiate synthesis from an intermediate, for example, 3-oxoadipyl-CoA, 3-hydroxyadipyl-CoA, 5-carboxy-2-pentenoyl-CoA, or adipyl-CoA (see FIG. 2), as desired. In addition, an adipate producing microbial organism can initiate synthesis from an intermediate, for example, 3-oxoadipyl-CoA, 3-oxoadipate, 3-hydroxyadipate, or hexa-2-enedioate (see FIG. 3). The 6-aminocaproic acid producing microbial organism of the invention can initiate synthesis from an intermediate, for example, adipate semialdehyde (see FIG. 8). The caprolactam producing microbial organism of the invention can initiate synthesis from an intermediate, for example, adipate semialdehyde or 6-aminocaproic acid (see FIG. 8), as desired.

[0244]The non-naturally occurring microbial organisms of the invention are constructed using methods well known in the art as exemplified herein to exogenously express at least one nucleic acid encoding a 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid pathway enzyme in sufficient amounts to produce 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid. It is understood that the microbial organisms of the invention are cultured under conditions sufficient to produce 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid. Following the teachings and guidance provided herein, the non-naturally occurring microbial organisms of the invention can achieve biosynthesis of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid resulting in intracellular concentrations between about 0.1-200 mM or more. Generally, the intracellular concentration of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid is between about 3-150 mM, particularly between about 5-125 mM and more particularly between about 8-100 mM, including about 10 mM, 20 mM, 50 mM, 80 mM, or more. Intracellular concentrations between and above each of these exemplary ranges also can be achieved from the non-naturally occurring microbial organisms of the invention.

[0245]In some embodiments, culture conditions include anaerobic or substantially anaerobic growth or maintenance conditions. Exemplary anaerobic conditions have been described previously and are well known in the art. Exemplary anaerobic conditions for fermentation processes are described herein and are described, for example, in U.S. publication 2009/0047719, filed Aug. 10, 2007. Any of these conditions can be employed with the non-naturally occurring microbial organisms as well as other anaerobic conditions well known in the art. Under such anaerobic conditions, the 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid producers can synthesize 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid at intracellular concentrations of 5-10 mM or more as well as all other concentrations exemplified herein. It is understood that, even though the above description refers to intracellular concentrations, 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid producing microbial organisms can produce 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid intracellularly and/or secrete the product into the culture medium.

[0246]The culture conditions can include, for example, liquid culture procedures as well as fermentation and other large scale culture procedures. As described herein, particularly useful yields of the biosynthetic products of the invention can be obtained under anaerobic or substantially anaerobic culture conditions.

[0247]As described herein, one exemplary growth condition for achieving biosynthesis of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid includes anaerobic culture or fermentation conditions. In certain embodiments, the non-naturally occurring microbial organisms of the invention can be sustained, cultured or fermented under anaerobic or substantially anaerobic conditions. Briefly, anaerobic conditions refers to an environment devoid of oxygen. Substantially anaerobic conditions include, for example, a culture, batch fermentation or continuous fermentation such that the dissolved oxygen concentration in the medium remains between 0 and 10% of saturation. Substantially anaerobic conditions also includes growing or resting cells in liquid medium or on solid agar inside a sealed chamber maintained with an atmosphere of less than 1% oxygen. The percent of oxygen can be maintained by, for example, sparging the culture with an N₂/CO₂ mixture or other suitable non-oxygen gas or gases.

[0248]The culture conditions described herein can be scaled up and grown continuously for manufacturing of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid. Exemplary growth procedures include, for example, fed-batch fermentation and batch separation; fed-batch fermentation and continuous separation, or continuous fermentation and continuous separation. All of these processes are well known in the art. Fermentation procedures are particularly useful for the biosynthetic production of commercial quantities of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid. Generally, and as with non-continuous culture procedures, the continuous and/or near-continuous production of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid will include culturing a non-naturally occurring 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid producing organism of the invention in sufficient nutrients and medium to sustain and/or nearly sustain growth in an exponential phase. Continuous culture under such conditions can include, for example, 1 day, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 days or more. Additionally, continuous culture can include 1 week, 2, 3, 4 or 5 or more weeks and up to several months. Alternatively, organisms of the invention can be cultured for hours, if suitable for a particular application. It is to be understood that the continuous and/or near-continuous culture conditions also can include all time intervals in between these exemplary periods. It is further understood that the time of culturing the microbial organism of the invention is for a sufficient period of time to produce a sufficient amount of product for a desired purpose.

[0249]Fermentation procedures are well known in the art. Briefly, fermentation for the biosynthetic production of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid can be utilized in, for example, fed-batch fermentation and batch separation; fed-batch fermentation and continuous separation, or continuous fermentation and continuous separation. Examples of batch and continuous fermentation procedures are well known in the art.

[0250]In addition to the above fermentation procedures using the 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid producers of the invention for continuous production of substantial quantities of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid, the 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid producers also can be, for example, simultaneously subjected to chemical synthesis procedures to convert the product to other compounds or the product can be separated from the fermentation culture and sequentially subjected to chemical conversion to convert the product to other compounds, if desired. As described herein, an intermediate in the adipate pathway utilizing 3-oxoadipate, hexa-2-enedioate, can be converted to adipate, for example, by chemical hydrogenation over a platinum catalyst (see Example III).

[0251]As described herein, exemplary growth conditions for achieving biosynthesis of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid includes the addition of an osmoprotectant to the culturing conditions. In certain embodiments, the non-naturally occurring microbial organisms of the invention can be sustained, cultured or fermented as described above in the presence of an osmoprotectant. Briefly, an osmoprotectant means a compound that acts as an osmolyte and helps a microbial organism as described herein survive osmotic stress. Osmoprotectants include, but are not limited to, betaines, amino acids, and the sugar trehalose. Non-limiting examples of such are glycine betaine, praline betaine, dimethylthetin, dimethylslfonioproprionate, 3-dimethylsulfonio-2-methylproprionate, pipecolic acid, dimethylsulfonioacetate, choline, L-carnitine and ectoine. In one aspect, the osmoprotectant is glycine betaine. It is understood to one of ordinary skill in the art that the amount and type of osmoprotectant suitable for protecting a microbial organism described herein from osmotic stress will depend on the microbial organism used. For example, as described in Example XXII, Escherichia coli in the presence of varying amounts of 6-aminocaproic acid is suitably grown in the presence of 2 mM glycine betaine. The amount of osmoprotectant in the culturing conditions can be, for example, no more than about 0.1 mM, no more than about 0.5 mM, no more than about 1.0 mM, no more than about 1.5 mM, no more than about 2.0 mM, no more than about 2.5 mM, no more than about 3.0 mM, no more than about 5.0 mM, no more than about 7.0 mM, no more than about 10 mM, no more than about 50 mM, no more than about 100 mM or no more than about 500 mM.

[0252]To generate better producers, metabolic modeling can be utilized to optimize growth conditions. Modeling can also be used to design gene knockouts that additionally optimize utilization of the pathway (see, for example, U.S. patent publications US 2002/0012939, US 2003/0224363, US 2004/0029149, US 2004/0072723, US 2003/0059792, US 2002/0168654 and US 2004/0009466, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,127,379). Modeling analysis allows reliable predictions of the effects on cell growth of shifting the metabolism towards more efficient production of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid.

[0253]One computational method for identifying and designing metabolic alterations favoring biosynthesis of a desired product is the OptKnock computational framework, Burgard et al., Biotechnol. Bioeng. 84:647-657 (2003). OptKnock is a metabolic modeling and simulation program that suggests gene deletion strategies that result in genetically stable microorganisms which overproduce the target product. Specifically, the framework examines the complete metabolic and/or biochemical network of a microorganism in order to suggest genetic manipulations that force the desired biochemical to become an obligatory byproduct of cell growth. By coupling biochemical production with cell growth through strategically placed gene deletions or other functional gene disruption, the growth selection pressures imposed on the engineered strains after long periods of time in a bioreactor lead to improvements in performance as a result of the compulsory growth-coupled biochemical production. Lastly, when gene deletions are constructed there is a negligible possibility of the designed strains reverting to their wild-type states because the genes selected by OptKnock are to be completely removed from the genome. Therefore, this computational methodology can be used to either identify alternative pathways that lead to biosynthesis of a desired product or used in connection with the non-naturally occurring microbial organisms for further optimization of biosynthesis of a desired product.

[0254]The concept of growth-coupled biochemical production can be visualized in the context of the biochemical production envelopes of a typical metabolic network calculated using an in silico model. These limits are obtained by fixing the uptake rate(s) of the limiting substrate(s) to their experimentally measured value(s) and calculating the maximum and minimum rates of biochemical production at each attainable level of growth. Although exceptions exist, typically the production of a desired biochemical is in direct competition with biomass formation for intracellular resources. Thus, enhanced rates of biochemical production will necessarily result in sub-maximal growth rates. The knockouts suggested by OptKnock are designed to restrict the allowable solution boundaries forcing a change in metabolic behavior from the wild-type strain. Although the actual solution boundaries for a given strain will expand or contract as the substrate uptake rate(s) increase or decrease, each experimental point should lie within its calculated solution boundary. Plots such as these allow one to visualize how close strains are to their performance limits or, in other words, how much room is available for improvement. The OptKnock framework has already been able to identify promising gene deletion strategies for biochemical overproduction, (Burgard et al., Biotechnol Bioeng, 84(6):647-657 (2003); Pharkya et al., Biotechnol Bioeng, 84(7):887-899 (2003)) and establishes a systematic framework that will naturally encompass future improvements in metabolic and regulatory modeling frameworks.

[0255]Briefly, OptKnock is a term used herein to refer to a computational method and system for modeling cellular metabolism. The OptKnock program relates to a framework of models and methods that incorporate particular constraints into flux balance analysis (FBA) models. These constraints include, for example, qualitative kinetic information, qualitative regulatory information, and/or DNA microarray experimental data. OptKnock also computes solutions to various metabolic problems by, for example, tightening the flux boundaries derived through flux balance models and subsequently probing the performance limits of metabolic networks in the presence of gene additions or deletions. OptKnock computational framework allows the construction of model formulations that enable an effective query of the performance limits of metabolic networks and provides methods for solving the resulting mixed-integer linear programming problems. The metabolic modeling and simulation method referred to herein as OptKnock are described in, for example, U.S. publication 2002/0168654, filed Jan. 10, 2002, in International Patent No. PCT/US02/00660, filed Jan. 10, 2002, and U.S. patent application serial No. 2009/0047719, filed Aug. 10, 2007.

[0256]Another computational method for identifying and designing metabolic alterations favoring biosynthetic production of a product is a metabolic modeling and simulation system termed SimPheny®. This computational method and system is described in, for example, U.S. publication 2003/0233218, filed Jun. 14, 2002, and in International Patent Application No. PCT/US03/18838, filed Jun. 13, 2003. SimPheny® is a computational system that can be used to produce a network model in silico and to simulate the flux of mass, energy or charge through the chemical reactions of a biological system to define a solution space that contains any and all possible functionalities of the chemical reactions in the system, thereby determining a range of allowed activities for the biological system. This approach is referred to as constraints-based modeling because the solution space is defined by constraints such as the known stoichiometry of the included reactions as well as reaction thermodynamic and capacity constraints associated with maximum fluxes through reactions. The space defined by these constraints can be interrogated to determine the phenotypic capabilities and behavior of the biological system or of its biochemical components. Analysis methods such as convex analysis, linear programming and the calculation of extreme pathways as described, for example, in Schilling et al., J. Theon. Biol. 203:229-248 (2000); Schilling et al., Biotech. Bioeng. 71:286-306 (2000) and Schilling et al., Biotech. Prog. 15:288-295 (1999), can be used to determine such phenotypic capabilities.

[0257]As described above, one constraints-based method used in the computational programs applicable to the invention is flux balance analysis. Flux balance analysis is based on flux balancing in a steady state condition and can be performed as described in, for example, Varma and Palsson, Biotech. Bioeng. 12:994-998 (1994). Flux balance approaches have been applied to reaction networks to simulate or predict systemic properties of, for example, adipocyte metabolism as described in Fell and Small, J. Biochem. 138:781-786 (1986), acetate secretion from E. coli under ATP maximization conditions as described in Majewski and Domach, Biotech. Bioeng. 35:732-738 (1990) or ethanol secretion by yeast as described in Vanrolleghem et al., Biotech. Prog. 12:434-448 (1996). Additionally, this approach can be used to predict or simulate the growth of S. cerevisiae on a variety of single-carbon sources as well as the metabolism of H. influenzae as described in Edwards and Palsson, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 97:5528-5533 (2000), Edwards and Palsson, J. Bio. Chem. 274:17410-17416 (1999) and Edwards et al., Nature Biotech. 19:125-130 (2001).

[0258]Once the solution space has been defined, it can be analyzed to determine possible solutions under various conditions. This computational approach is consistent with biological realities because biological systems are flexible and can reach the same result in many different ways. Biological systems are designed through evolutionary mechanisms that have been restricted by fundamental constraints that all living systems must face. Therefore, constraints-based modeling strategy embraces these general realities. Further, the ability to continuously impose further restrictions on a network model via the tightening of constraints results in a reduction in the size of the solution space, thereby enhancing the precision with which physiological performance or phenotype can be predicted.

[0259]These computational approaches are consistent with biological realities because biological systems are flexible and can reach the same result in many different ways. Biological systems are designed through evolutionary mechanisms that have been restricted by fundamental constraints that all living systems must face. Therefore, constraints-based modeling strategy embraces these general realities. Further, the ability to continuously impose further restrictions on a network model via the tightening of constraints results in a reduction in the size of the solution space, thereby enhancing the precision with which physiological performance or phenotype can be predicted.

[0260]Given the teachings and guidance provided herein, those skilled in the art will be able to apply various computational frameworks for metabolic modeling and simulation to design and implement biosynthesis of a desired compound in host microbial organisms. Such metabolic modeling and simulation methods include, for example, the computational systems exemplified above as SimPheny® and OptKnock. For illustration of the invention, some methods are described herein with reference to the OptKnock computation framework for modeling and simulation. Those skilled in the art will know how to apply the identification, design and implementation of the metabolic alterations using OptKnock to any of such other metabolic modeling and simulation computational frameworks and methods well known in the art.

[0261]The ability of a cell or organism to obligatory couple growth to the production of a biochemical product can be illustrated in the context of the biochemical production limits of a typical metabolic network calculated using an in silico model. These limits are obtained by fixing the uptake rate(s) of the limiting substrate(s) to their experimentally measured value(s) and calculating the maximum and minimum rates of biochemical production at each attainable level of growth. The production of a desired biochemical generally is in direct competition with biomass formation for intracellular resources. Under these circumstances, enhanced rates of biochemical production will necessarily result in sub-maximal growth rates. The knockouts suggested by the above metabolic modeling and simulation programs such as OptKnock are designed to restrict the allowable solution boundaries forcing a change in metabolic behavior from the wild-type strain. Although the actual solution boundaries for a given strain will expand or contract as the substrate uptake rate(s) increase or decrease, each experimental point will lie within its calculated solution boundary. Plots such as these allow accurate predictions of how close the designed strains are to their performance limits which also indicates how much room is available for improvement.

[0262]The OptKnock mathematical framework is exemplified herein for pinpointing gene deletions leading to growth-coupled biochemical production (see Example XXX). The procedure builds upon constraint-based metabolic modeling which narrows the range of possible phenotypes that a cellular system can display through the successive imposition of governing physico-chemical constraints, Price et al., Nat Rev Microbiol, 2: 886-97 (2004). As described above, constraint-based models and simulations are well known in the art and generally invoke the optimization of a particular cellular objective, subject to network stoichiometry, to suggest a likely flux distribution.

[0263]Briefly, the maximization of a cellular objective quantified as an aggregate reaction flux for a steady state metabolic network comprising a set N={1, . . . , N} of metabolites and a set M={1, . . . , M} of metabolic reactions is expressed mathematically as follows:

$\begin{array}{ccc}\mathrm{maximize}& v_{\mathrm{cellular}\mathrm{objective}}& \\ \mathrm{subject}\mathrm{to}& \sum _{j=1}^MS_{\mathrm{ij}}v_j=0,& \forall i\in N\\ & v_{\mathrm{substrate}}=v_{\mathrm{substrate}\_\mathrm{uptake}}m\mathrm{mol}\text{/}\mathrm{gDW}·\mathrm{hr}& \forall i\in \left\{\mathrm{limiting}\mathrm{substate}\left(s\right)\right\}\\ & v_{\mathrm{atp}}\ge v_{\mathrm{atp\_main}}m\mathrm{mol}\text{/}\mathrm{gDW}·\mathrm{hr}& \\ & v_j\ge 0,& \forall j\in \left\{\mathrm{irrev}.\mathrm{reactions}\right\}\end{array}$

where S_ij is the stoichiometric coefficient of metabolite i in reaction j, v_j is the flux of reaction j, v_{substrate—uptake} represents the assumed or measured uptake rate(s) of the limiting substrate(s), and v_atp—main is the non-growth associated ATP maintenance requirement. The vector v includes both internal and external fluxes. In this study, the cellular objective is often assumed to be a drain of biosynthetic precursors in the ratios required for biomass formation, Neidhardt, F. C. et al., 2nd ed. 1996, Washington, D.C.: ASM Press. 2 v. (xx, 2822, 1xxvi). The fluxes are generally reported per 1 gDW·hr (gram of dry weight times hour) such that biomass formation is expressed as g biomass produced/gDW·hr or 1/hr.

[0264]The modeling of gene deletions, and thus reaction elimination, first employs the incorporation of binary variables into the constraint-based approach framework, Burgard et al., Biotechnol Bioeng, 74: 364-375 (2001), Burgard et al., Biotechnol Prog, 17: 791-797 (2001). These binary variables,

$y_j=\{\begin{array}{cc}1,& \mathrm{if}\mathrm{reaction}\mathrm{flux}v_j\mathrm{is}\mathrm{active}\\ 0,& \mathrm{if}\mathrm{reaction}\mathrm{flux}v_j\mathrm{is}\mathrm{not}\mathrm{active},\end{array}\forall j\in M$

assume a value of 11f reaction j is active and a value of 0 if it is inactive. The following constraint,

v_j^min·y_j≦v_j≦v_j^max·y_j,∀jεM

ensures that reaction flux v_j is set to zero only if variable y_j is equal to zero. Alternatively, when y_j is equal to one, v_j is free to assume any value between a lower v_j^min and an upper v_j^max bound. Here, v_j^min and v_j^max are identified by minimizing and maximizing, respectively, every reaction flux subject to the network constraints described above, Mahadevan et al., Metab Eng, 5: 264-76 (2003).

[0265]Optimal gene/reaction knockouts are identified by solving a bilevel optimization problem that chooses the set of active reactions (y_j=1) such that an optimal growth solution for the resulting network overproduces the chemical of interest. Schematically, this bilevel optimization problem is illustrated in FIG. 2. Mathematically, this bilevel optimization problem is expressed as the following bilevel mixed-integer optimization problem:

$\begin{array}{cccc}\underset{y_j}{\mathrm{maximize}}& v_{\mathrm{chemical}}& & \left(\mathrm{OptKnock}\right)\end{array}$$\left(\begin{array}{cccc}\underset{v_j}{\mathrm{subject}\mathrm{to}}& \mathrm{maximize}& v_{\mathrm{biomass}}& \\ & \mathrm{subject}\mathrm{to}& \sum _{j=1}^MS_{\mathrm{ij}}v_j=0,& \forall i\in N\\ & & v_{\mathrm{substrate}}=v_{\mathrm{substrate}\_\mathrm{uptake}}& \forall i\in \left\{\mathrm{limiting}\mathrm{substate}\left(s\right)\right\}\\ & & v_{\mathrm{atp}}\ge v_{\mathrm{atp}\_\mathrm{main}}& \\ & & v_{\mathrm{biomass}}\ge v_{\mathrm{biomass}}^{\mathrm{target}}& \end{array}\right)$$\begin{array}{cc}{v}_j^{\min }·y_j\le v_j\le v_j^{\max }·y_j,& \forall j\in M\end{array}$$\sum _{j\in M^{\mathrm{forward}}}\left(1-y_j\right)=K\begin{array}{cc}{y}_j\in \left\{0,1\right\},& \forall j\in M\end{array}$

where v_chemical is the production of the desired target product, for example adipate, 6-ACA and/or HMDA, or other biochemical product, and K is the number of allowable knockouts. Note that setting K equal to zero returns the maximum biomass solution of the complete network, while setting K equal to one identifies the single gene/reaction knockout (y_j=0) such that the resulting network involves the maximum overproduction given its maximum biomass yield. The final constraint ensures that the resulting network meets a minimum biomass yield. Burgard et al., Biotechnol Bioeng, 84: 647-57 (2003), provide a more detailed description of the model formulation and solution procedure. Problems containing hundreds of binary variables can be solved in the order of minutes to hours using CPLEX 8.0, GAMS: The Solver Manuals. 2003: GAMS Development Corporation, accessed via the GAMS, Brooke et al., GAMS Development Corporation (1998), modeling environment on an IBM RS6000-270 workstation. The OptKnock framework has already been able to identify promising gene deletion strategies for biochemical overproduction, Burgard et al., Biotechnol Bioeng, 84: 647-57 (2003), Pharkya et al., Biotechnol Bioeng, 84: 887-899 (2003), and establishes a systematic framework that will naturally encompass future improvements in metabolic and regulatory modeling frameworks.

[0266]The methods described above will provide one set of metabolic reactions to disrupt. Elimination of each reaction within the set or metabolic modification can result in a desired product as an obligatory product during the growth phase of the organism. Because the reactions are known, a solution to the bilevel OptKnock problem also will provide the associated gene or genes encoding one or more enzymes that catalyze each reaction within the set of reactions. Identification of a set of reactions and their corresponding genes encoding the enzymes participating in each reaction is generally an automated process, accomplished through correlation of the reactions with a reaction database having a relationship between enzymes and encoding genes.

[0267]Once identified, the set of reactions that are to be disrupted in order to achieve production of a desired product are implemented in the target cell or organism by functional disruption of at least one gene encoding each metabolic reaction within the set. One particularly useful means to achieve functional disruption of the reaction set is by deletion of each encoding gene. However, in some instances, it can be beneficial to disrupt the reaction by other genetic aberrations including, for example, mutation, deletion of regulatory regions such as promoters or cis binding sites for regulatory factors, or by truncation of the coding sequence at any of a number of locations. These latter aberrations, resulting in less than total deletion of the gene set can be useful, for example, when rapid assessments of the coupling of a product are desired or when genetic reversion is less likely to occur.

[0268]To identify additional productive solutions to the above described bilevel OptKnock problem which lead to further sets of reactions to disrupt or metabolic modifications that can result in the biosynthesis, including growth-coupled biosynthesis of a desired product, an optimization method, termed integer cuts, can be implemented. This method proceeds by iteratively solving the OptKnock problem exemplified above with the incorporation of an additional constraint referred to as an integer cut at each iteration. Integer cut constraints effectively prevent the solution procedure from choosing the exact same set of reactions identified in any previous iteration that obligatorily couples product biosynthesis to growth. For example, if a previously identified growth-coupled metabolic modification specifies reactions 1, 2, and 3 for disruption, then the following constraint prevents the same reactions from being simultaneously considered in subsequent solutions. The integer cut method is well known in the art and can be found described in, for example, Burgard et al., Biotechnol. Prog. 17:791-797 (2001). As with all methods described herein with reference to their use in combination with the OptKnock computational framework for metabolic modeling and simulation, the integer cut method of reducing redundancy in iterative computational analysis also can be applied with other computational frameworks well known in the art including, for example, SimPheny®.

[0269]The methods exemplified herein allow the construction of cells and organisms that biosynthetically produce a desired product, including the obligatory coupling of production of a target biochemical product to growth of the cell or organism engineered to harbor the identified genetic alterations. Therefore, the computational methods described herein allow the identification and implementation of metabolic modifications that are identified by an in silico method selected from OptKnock or SimPheny®. The set of metabolic modifications can include, for example, addition of one or more biosynthetic pathway enzymes and/or functional disruption of one or more metabolic reactions including, for example, disruption by gene deletion.

[0270]As discussed above, the OptKnock methodology was developed on the premise that mutant microbial networks can be evolved towards their computationally predicted maximum-growth phenotypes when subjected to long periods of growth selection. In other words, the approach leverages an organism's ability to self-optimize under selective pressures. The OptKnock framework allows for the exhaustive enumeration of gene deletion combinations that force a coupling between biochemical production and cell growth based on network stoichiometry. The identification of optimal gene/reaction knockouts requires the solution of a bilevel optimization problem that chooses the set of active reactions such that an optimal growth solution for the resulting network overproduces the biochemical of interest (Burgard et al., Biotechnol. Bioeng. 84:647-657 (2003)).

[0271]An in silico stoichiometric model of E. coli metabolism can be employed to identify essential genes for metabolic pathways as exemplified previously and described in, for example, U.S. patent publications US 2002/0012939, US 2003/0224363, US 2004/0029149, US 2004/0072723, US 2003/0059792, US 2002/0168654 and US 2004/0009466, and in U.S. Pat. No. 7,127,379. As disclosed herein, the OptKnock mathematical framework can be applied to pinpoint gene deletions leading to the growth-coupled production of a desired product. Further, the solution of the bilevel OptKnock problem provides only one set of deletions. To enumerate all meaningful solutions, that is, all sets of knockouts leading to growth-coupled production formation, an optimization technique, termed integer cuts, can be implemented. This entails iteratively solving the OptKnock problem with the incorporation of an additional constraint referred to as an integer cut at each iteration, as discussed above.

[0272]Given the teachings and guidance provided herein, those skilled in the art will understand that to disrupt an enzymatic reaction the catalytic activity of the one or more enzymes involved in the reaction is to be disrupted. Disruption can occur by a variety of means including, for example, deletion of an encoding gene or incorporation of a genetic alteration in one or more of the encoding gene sequences. The encoding genes targeted for disruption can be one, some, or all of the genes encoding enzymes involved in the catalytic activity. For example, where a single enzyme is involved in a targeted catalytic activity disruption can occur by a genetic alteration that reduces or destroys the catalytic activity of the encoded gene product. Similarly, where the single enzyme is multimeric, including heteromeric, disruption can occur by a genetic alteration that reduces or destroys the function of one or all subunits of the encoded gene products. Destruction of activity can be accomplished by loss of the binding activity of one or more subunits in order to form an active complex, by destruction of the catalytic subunit of the multimeric complex or by both. Other functions of multimeric protein association and activity also can be targeted in order to disrupt a metabolic reaction of the invention. Such other functions are well known to those skilled in the art. Further, some or all of the functions of a single polypeptide or multimeric complex can be disrupted according to the invention in order to reduce or abolish the catalytic activity of one or more enzymes involved in a reaction or metabolic modification of the invention. Similarly, some or all of enzymes involved in a reaction or metabolic modification of the invention can be disrupted so long as the targeted reaction is reduced or eliminated.

[0273]Given the teachings and guidance provided herein, those skilled in the art also will understand that an enzymatic reaction can be disrupted by reducing or eliminating reactions encoded by a common gene and/or by one or more orthologs of that gene exhibiting similar or substantially the same activity. Reduction of both the common gene and all orthologs can lead to complete abolishment of any catalytic activity of a targeted reaction. However, disruption of either the common gene or one or more orthologs can lead to a reduction in the catalytic activity of the targeted reaction sufficient to promote coupling of growth to product biosynthesis. Exemplified herein are both the common genes encoding catalytic activities for a variety of metabolic modifications as well as their orthologs. Those skilled in the art will understand that disruption of some or all of the genes encoding a enzyme of a targeted metabolic reaction can be practiced in the methods of the invention and incorporated into the non-naturally occurring microbial organisms of the invention in order to achieve the growth-coupled product production. Examplary disruptions to confer increased production of adipate, 6-ACA and/or HMDA are described in Example XXX and Tables 14-16.

[0274]Employing the methods exemplified above, the methods of the invention allow the construction of cells and organisms that increase production of a desired product, for example, by coupling the production of a desired product to growth of the cell or organism engineered to harbor the identified genetic alterations. As disclosed herein, metabolic alterations have been identified that couple the production of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid to growth of the organism. Microbial organism strains constructed with the identified metabolic alterations produce elevated levels, relative to the absence of the metabolic alterations, of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid during the exponential growth phase. These strains can be beneficially used for the commercial production of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid in continuous fermentation process without being subjected to the negative selective pressures described previously. Although exemplified herein as metabolic alterations, in particular one or more gene disruptions, that confer growth coupled production of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid, it is understood that any gene disruption that increases the production of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid can be introduced into a host microbial organism, as desired.

[0275]Therefore, the methods of the invention provide a set of metabolic modifications that are identified by an in silico method such as OptKnock. The set of metabolic modifications can include functional disruption of one or more metabolic reactions including, for example, disruption by gene deletion. For 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid production, metabolic modifications can be selected from the set of metabolic modifications listed in Tables 14-16 (see Example XXX).

[0276]Also provided is a method of producing a non-naturally occurring microbial organisms having stable growth-coupled production of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid. The method can include identifying in silico a set of metabolic modifications that increase production of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid, for example, increase production during exponential growth; genetically modifying an organism to contain the set of metabolic modifications that increase production of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid, and culturing the genetically modified organism. If desired, culturing can include adaptively evolving the genetically modified organism under conditions requiring production of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid. The methods of the invention are applicable to bacterium, yeast and fungus as well as a variety of other cells and microorganism, as disclosed herein.

[0277]Thus, the invention provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism comprising one or more gene disruptions that confer increased production of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid. In one embodiment, the one or more gene disruptions confer growth-coupled production of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid, and can, for example, confer stable growth-coupled production of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid. In another embodiment, the one or more gene disruptions can confer obligatory coupling of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid production to growth of the microbial organism. Such one or more gene disruptions reduce the activity of the respective one or more encoded enzymes.

[0278]The non-naturally occurring microbial organism can have one or more gene disruptions included in a metabolic modification listed in Tables 14-16. As disclosed herein, the one or more gene disruptions can be a deletion. Such non-naturally occurring microbial organisms of the invention include bacteria, yeast, fungus, or any of a variety of other microorganisms applicable to fermentation processes, as disclosed herein.

[0279]Thus, the invention provides a non-naturally occurring microbial organism, comprising one or more gene disruptions, where the one or more gene disruptions occur in genes encoding proteins or enzymes where the one or more gene disruptions confer increased production of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid in the organism. The production of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid can be growth-coupled or not growth-coupled. In a particular embodiment, the production of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid can be obligatorily coupled to growth of the organism, as disclosed herein.

[0280]The invention provides non naturally occurring microbial organisms having genetic alterations such as gene disruptions that increase production of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid, for example, growth-coupled production of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid. Product production can be, for example, obligatorily linked to the exponential growth phase of the microorganism by genetically altering the metabolic pathways of the cell, as disclosed herein. The genetic alterations can increase the production of the desired product or even make the desired product an obligatory product during the growth phase. Sets of metabolic alterations or transformations that result in increased production and elevated levels of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid biosynthesis are exemplified in Tables 14-16 (see Example XXX). Each alteration within a set corresponds to the requisite metabolic reaction that should be functionally disrupted. Functional disruption of all reactions within each set can result in the increased production of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid by the engineered strain during the growth phase. The corresponding reactions to the referenced alterations can be found in Tables 14-16 (see Example XXX), and the gene or genes that encode enzymes or proteins that carry out the reactions are set forth in Tables 14-16.

[0281]For example, for each strain exemplified in Tables 14-16, the metabolic alterations that can be generated for 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid production are shown in each row. These alterations include the functional disruption of the reactions shown in Tables 14-16. Each of these non-naturally occurring alterations result in increased production and an enhanced level of 6-aminocaproic acid, caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine or levulinic acid production, for example, during the exponential growth phase of the microbial organism, compared to a strain that does not contain such metabolic alterations, under appropriate culture conditions. Appropriate conditions include, for example, those disclosed herein, including conditions such as particular carbon sources or reactant availabilities and/or adaptive evolution.

[0282]It is understood that modifications which do not substantially affect the activity of the various embodiments of this invention are also provided within the definition of the invention provided herein. Accordingly, the following examples are intended to illustrate but not limit the present invention.

Example I

Reverse Adipate Degradation Pathway

[0283]This example describes an exemplary adipate synthesis pathway via a reverse adipate degradation pathway.

[0284]Organisms such as Penicillium chrysogenum have the ability to naturally degrade adipate (Thykaer et al., Metab. Eng. 4:151-158. (2002)). The mechanism is similar to the oxidation of fatty acids (see FIG. 1). The first step in adipate degradation is an ATP-dependent reaction that activates adipate with CoA. The second reaction is catalyzed by a dehydrogenase that forms 5-carboxy-2-pentenoyl-CoA from adipyl-CoA. During peroxisomal adipate degradation, the dehydrogenase enzyme contains FAD, which accepts the electrons and then transfers them directly to oxygen. A catalase enzyme dissipates the H₂O₂ formed by the reduction of oxygen. In mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation, the FAD from the dehydrogenase transfers electrons directly to the electron transport chain. A multi-functional fatty acid oxidation protein in eukaryotes such as S. cerevisiae and P. chrysogenum carries out the following hydratase and dehydrogenase steps. The final step is an acyl transferase that splits 3-oxoadipyl CoA into acetyl-CoA and succinyl-CoA.

[0285]A highly efficient pathway for the production of adipate is achieved through genetically altering a microorganism such that similar enzymatic reactions are employed for adipate synthesis from succinyl-CoA and acetyl-CoA (see FIG. 2). Successful implementation of this entails expressing the appropriate genes, tailoring their expression, and altering culture conditions so that high acetyl-CoA, succinyl-CoA, and/or redox (for example, NADH/NAD+) ratios will drive the metabolic flux through this pathway in the direction of adipate synthesis rather than degradation. Strong parallels to butyrate formation in Clostridia (Kanehisa and Goto, Nucl. Acids Res. 28:27-30 (2000)) support that each step in the adipate synthesis pathway is thermodynamically feasible with reaction directionality governed by the concentrations of the participating metabolites. The final step, which forms adipate from adipyl-CoA, can take place either via a synthetase, phosphotransadipylase/kinase, transferase, or hydrolase mechanism.

[0286]The maximum theoretical yields of adipate using this pathway were calculated both in the presence and absence of an external electron acceptor such as oxygen. These calculations show that the pathway can efficiently transform glucose into adipate and CO₂ under anaerobic conditions with a 92% molar yield (Table 1). The production of adipate using this pathway does not require the uptake of oxygen as NAD+ can be regenerated in the two hydrogenase steps that form 3-hydroxyadipyl-CoA and adipyl-CoA (see FIG. 2). Further, the pathway is favorable energetically as up to 1.55 moles of ATP are formed per mole of glucose consumed at the maximum theoretical yield of adipate assuming either a synthetase, phosphotransadipylase/kinase, or transferase mechanism for the final conversion step. The ATP yield can be further improved to 2.47 moles of ATP produced per mole of glucose if phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PPCK) is assumed to function in the ATP-generating direction towards oxaloacetate formation. Maximum ATP yield calculations were then performed assuming that the adipyl-CoA to adipate transformation is a hydrolysis step. This reduces the maximum ATP yields at maximum adipate production to 0.85 and 1.77 mole ATP per mole glucose consumed if PPCK is assumed irreversible and reversible, respectively. Nevertheless, these ATP yields are sufficient for cell growth, maintenance, and production.

[0287]Successfully engineering this pathway involves identifying an appropriate set of enzymes with sufficient activity and specificity. This entails identifying an appropriate set of enzymes, cloning their corresponding genes into a production host, optimizing fermentation conditions, and assaying for product formation following fermentation. To engineer a production host for the production of adipate, one or more exogenous DNA sequence(s) are expressed in a suitable host microorganism. In addition, the microorganisms can have endogenous gene(s) functionally deleted. These modifications allow the production of adipate using renewable feedstock.

[0288]Below is described a number of biochemically characterized candidate genes that encode enzymes that catalyze each step of the reverse adipate degradation pathway in a production host. Although described using E. coli as a host organism to engineer the pathway, essentially any suitable host organism can be used. Specifically listed are genes that are native to E. coli as well as genes in other organisms that can be applied to catalyze the appropriate transformations when properly cloned and expressed.

[0289]Referring to FIG. 2, step I involves succinyl CoA:acetyl CoA acyl transferase (β-ketothiolase). The first step in the pathway combines acetyl-CoA and succinyl-CoA to form 3-oxoadipyl-CoA. The gene products encoded by pcaF in Pseudomonas strain B13 (Kaschabek et al., J. Bacteriol. 184:207-215 (2002)), phaD in Pseudomonas putida U (Olivera et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 95:6419-6424 (1998)), paaE in Pseudomonas fluorescens ST (Di Gennaro et al., Arch. Microbiol. 188:117-125 (2007)), and paaJ from E. coli (Nogales et al., Microbiol. 153:357-365 (2007)) catalyze the conversion of 3-oxoadipyl-CoA into succinyl-CoA and acetyl-CoA during the degradation of aromatic compounds such as phenylacetate or styrene. Since β-ketothiolase enzymes catalyze reversible transformations, these enzymes can be employed for the first step in adipate synthesis shown in FIG. 2. For example, the ketothiolase phaA from R. eutropha combines two molecules of acetyl-CoA to form acetoacetyl-CoA (Sato et al., J. Biosci. Bioengineer. 103:38-44 (2007)). Similarly, a β-keto thiolase (bktB) has been reported to catalyze the condensation of acetyl-CoA and propionyl-CoA to form β-ketovaleryl-CoA (Slater et al., J. Bacteriol. 180: 1979-1987 (1998)) in R. eutropha. Additional candidates are found in Burkholderia ambifaria AMMD. The protein sequences for the above-mentioned gene products are well known in the art and can be accessed in the public databases such as GenBank using the following GI numbers and/or GenBank identifiers:

[0290]These exemplary sequences can be used to identify homologue proteins in GenBank or other databases through sequence similarity searches (for example, BLASTp). The resulting homologue proteins and their corresponding gene sequences provide additional exogenous DNA sequences for transformation into E. coli or other suitable host microorganisms to generate production hosts.

[0291]For example, orthologs of paaJ from Escherichia coli K12 can be found using the following GI numbers and/or GenBank identifiers:

[0292]Example orthologs of pcaF from Pseudomonas knackmussii can be found using the following GI numbers and/or GenBank identifiers:

[0293]Additional native candidate genes for the ketothiolase step include atoB, which can catalyze the reversible condensation of 2 acetyl-CoA molecules (Sato et al., J. Biosci. Bioengineer. 103:38-44 (2007)), and its homolog yqeF. Non-native gene candidates include phaA (Sato et al., supra, 2007) and bktB (Slater et al., J. Bacteriol. 180:1979-1987 (1998)) from R. eutropha, and the two ketothiolases, thiA and thiB, from Clostridium acetobutylicum (Winzer et al., J. Mol. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 2:531-541 (2000)). The protein sequences for each of these exemplary gene products can be found using the following GI numbers and/or GenBank identifiers:

[0294]It is less desirable to use the thiolase-encoding genes fadA and fadB, genes in fatty acid degradation pathway in E. coli, in this exemplary pathway. These genes form a complex that encodes for multiple activities, most of which are not desired in this pathway.

[0295]Referring to FIG. 2, step 2 involves 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase. The second step in the pathway involves the reduction of 3-oxoadipyl-CoA to 3-hydroxyadipyl-CoA. The gene products encoded by phaC in Pseudomonas putida U (Olivera et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 95:6419-6424 (1998)) and paaC in Pseudomonas fluorescens ST (Di Gennaro et al., Arch. Microbiol. 188:117-125 (2007)) catalyze the reverse reaction, that is, the oxidation of 3-hydroxyadipyl-CoA to form 3-oxoadipyl-CoA, during the catabolism of phenylacetate or styrene. The reactions catalyzed by such dehydrogenases are reversible and accordingly these genes represent candidates to carry out the second step of adipate synthesis as shown in FIG. 2. A similar transformation is also carried out by the gene product of hbd in Clostridium acetobutylicum (Atsumi et al., Metab. Eng. (epub Sep. 14, 2007); Boynton et al., J. Bacteriol. 178:3015-3024 (1996)). This enzyme converts acetoacetyl-CoA to 3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA. Lastly, given the proximity in E. coli of paaH to other genes in the phenylacetate degradation operon (Nogales et al., Microbiol. 153:357-365 (2007)) and the fact that paaH mutants cannot grow on phenylacetate (Ismail et al., Eur. J. Biochem. 270:3047-3054 (2003)), it is expected that the E. coli paaH gene encodes a 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase. The protein sequences for each of these exemplary gene products can be found using the following GI numbers and/or GenBank identifiers:

[0296]Referring to FIG. 2, step 3 involves 3-hydroxyadipyl-CoA dehydratase. The gene product of crt from C. acetobutylicum catalyzes the dehydration of 3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA to crotonyl-CoA (see FIG. 2) (Atsumi et al., supra, 2007; Boynton et al., J. Bacteriol. 178:3015-3024 (1996)). Homologs of this gene are strong candidates for carrying out the third step in the adipate synthesis pathway exemplified in FIG. 2. In addition, genes known to catalyze the hydroxylation of double bonds in enoyl-CoA compounds represent additional candidates given the reversibility of such enzymatic transformations. For example, the enoyl-CoA hydratases, phaA and phaB, of P. putida are believed to carry out the hydroxylation of double bonds during phenylacetate catabolism (Olivera et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 95:6419-6424 (1998)) and thus represent additional candidates for incorporation into E. coli. The deletion of these genes precludes phenylacetate degradation in P. putida. The paaA and paaB from P. fluorescens catalyze analogous transformations (Olivera et al., supra, 1998). Lastly, a number of Escherichia coli genes have been shown to demonstrate enoyl-CoA hydratase functionality including maoC (Park and Lee, J. Bacteriol. 185:5391-5397 (2003)), paaF (Ismail et al., Eur. J. Biochem. 270:3047-3054 (2003); Park and Lee, Biotechnol. Bioeng. 86:681-686 (2004); Park and Lee, Appl. Biochem. Biotechnol. 113-116:335-346 (2004)), and paaG (Ismail et al., supra, 2003; Park and Lee, supra, 2004; Park and Lee, supra, 2004). The protein sequences for each of these exemplary gene products can be found using the following GI numbers and/or GenBank identifiers:

[0297]Alternatively, beta-oxidation genes are candidates for the first three steps in adipate synthesis. Candidate genes for the proposed adipate synthesis pathway also include the native fatty acid oxidation genes of E. coli and their homologs in other organisms. The E. coli genes fadA and fadB encode a multienzyme complex that exhibits ketoacyl-CoA thiolase, 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase, and enoyl-CoA hydratase activities (Yang et al., Biochem. 30:6788-6795 (1991); Yang et al., J. Biol. Chem. 265:10424-10429 (1990); Yang et al., J. Biol. Chem. 266:16255 (1991); Nakahigashi and Inokuchi, Nucl. Acids Res. 18: 4937 (1990)). These activities are mechanistically similar to the first three transformations shown in FIG. 2. The fadI andfadJgenes encode similar functions and are naturally expressed only anaerobically (Campbell et al., Mol. Microbiol. 47:793-805 (2003)). These gene products naturally operate to degrade short, medium, and long chain fatty-acyl-CoA compounds to acetyl-CoA, rather than to convert succinyl-CoA and acetyl-CoA into 5-carboxy-2-pentenoyl-CoA as proposed in FIG. 2. However, it is well known that the ketoacyl-CoA thiolase, 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase, and enoyl-CoA hydratase enzymes catalyze reversible transformations. Furthermore, directed evolution and related approaches can be applied to tailor the substrate specificities of the native beta-oxidation machinery of E. coli. Thus these enzymes or homologues thereof can be applied for adipate production. If the native genes operate to degrade adipate or its precursors in vivo, the appropriate genetic modifications are made to attenuate or eliminate these functions. However, it may not be necessary since a method for producing poly[(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate] in E. coli that involves activating fadB, by knocking out a negative regulator, fadR, and co-expressing a non-native ketothiolase, phaA from Ralstonia eutropha, has been described (Sato et al., J. Biosci. Bioeng. 103:38-44 (2007)). This work clearly demonstrated that a beta-oxidation enzyme, in particular the gene product of fadB which encodes both 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase and enoyl-CoA hydratase activities, can function as part of a pathway to produce longer chain molecules from acetyl-CoA precursors. The protein sequences for each of these exemplary gene products can be found using the following GI numbers and/or GenBank identifiers:

[0298]Referring to FIG. 2, step 4 involves 5-carboxy-2-pentenoyl-CoA reductase. Whereas the ketothiolase, dehydrogenase, and enoyl-CoA hydratase steps are generally reversible, the enoyl-CoA reductase step is almost always oxidative and irreversible under physiological conditions (Hoffmeister et al., J. Biol. Chem. 280:4329-4338 (2005)). FadE catalyzes this likely irreversible transformation in E. coli (Campbell and Cronan, J. Bacteriol. 184:3759-3764 (2002)). The pathway requires an enzyme that can reduce a 2-enoyl-CoA intermediate, not one such as FadE that will only oxidize an acyl-CoA to a 2-enoyl-CoA compound. Furthermore, although it has been suggested that E. coli naturally possesses enzymes for enoyl-CoA reduction (Mizugaki et al., J. Biochem. 92:1649-1654 (1982); Nishimaki et al., J. Biochem. 95:1315-1321 (1984)), no E. coli gene possessing this function has been biochemically characterized.

[0299]One candidate gene for the enoyl-CoA reductase step is the gene product of bcd from C. acetobutylicum (Atsumi et al., supra, 2007; Boynton et al., J. Bacteriol. 178:3015-3024 (1996)), which naturally catalyzes the reduction of crotonyl-CoA to butyryl-CoA, a reaction similar in mechanism to the desired reduction of 5-carboxy-2-pentenoyl-CoA to adipyl-CoA in the adipate synthesis pathway. Activity of this enzyme can be enhanced by expressing bcd in conjunction with expression of the C. acetobutylicum etfAB genes, which encode an electron transfer flavoprotein. An additional candidate for the enoyl-CoA reductase step is the mitochondrial enoyl-CoA reductase from E. gracilis (Hoffmeister et al., J. Biol. Chem. 280:4329-4338 (2005)). A construct derived from this sequence following the removal of its mitochondrial targeting leader sequence was cloned in E. coli, resulting in an active enzyme (Hoffmeister et al., supra, 2005). This approach is well known to those skilled in the art of expressing eukarytotic genes, particularly those with leader sequences that may target the gene product to a specific intracellular compartment, in prokaryotic organisms. A close homolog of this gene, TDE0597, from the prokaryote Treponema denticola represents a third enoyl-CoA reductase which has been cloned and expressed in E. coli (Tucci and Martin, FEBS Lett. 581:1561-1566 (2007)). The protein sequences for each of these exemplary gene products can be found using the following GI numbers and/or GenBank identifiers:

[0300]Referring to FIG. 2, step 5 involves adipyl-CoA synthetase (also referred to as adipate-CoA ligase), phosphotransadipylase/adipate kinase, adipyl-CoA:acetyl-CoA transferase, or adipyl-CoA hydrolase. From an energetic standpoint, it is desirable for the final step in the adipate synthesis pathway to be catalyzed by an enzyme or enzyme pair that can conserve the ATP equivalent stored in the thioester bond of adipyl-CoA. The product of the sucC and sucD genes of E. coli, or homologs thereof, can potentially catalyze the final transformation shown in FIG. 2 should they exhibit activity on adipyl-CoA. The sucCD genes naturally form a succinyl-CoA synthetase complex that catalyzes the formation of succinyl-CoA from succinate with the concaminant consumption of one ATP, a reaction which is reversible in vivo (Buck et al., Biochem. 24:6245-6252 (1985)). Given the structural similarity between succinate and adipate, that is, both are straight chain dicarboxylic acids, it is reasonable to expect some activity of the sucCD enzyme on adipyl-CoA. An enzyme exhibiting adipyl-CoA ligase activity can equivalently carry out the ATP-generating production of adipate from adipyl-CoA, here using AMP and PPi as cofactors, when operating in the opposite physiological direction as depicted in FIG. 1. Exemplary CoA-ligases include the rat dicarboxylate-CoA ligase for which the sequence is yet uncharacterized (Vamecq et al., Biochem. J. 230:683-693 (1985)), either of the two characterized phenylacetate-CoA ligases from P. chrysogenum (Lamas-Maceiras et al., Biochem. J. 395, 147-155 (2005); Wang et al., Biochem. Biophy. Res. Commun. 360:453-458 (2007)), the phenylacetate-CoA ligase from Pseudomonas putida (Martinez-Blanco et al., J. Biol. Chem. 265:7084-7090 (1990)), and the 6-carboxyhexanoate-CoA ligase from Bacilis subtilis (Bower et al., J. Bacteriol. 178:4122-4130 (1996)). The protein sequences for each of these exemplary gene products can be found using the following GI numbers and/or GenBank identifiers:

[0301]Another option, using phosphotransadipylase/adipate kinase, is catalyzed by the gene products of buk1, buk2, and ptb from C. acetobutylicum (Walter et al., Gene 134:107-111 (1993); Huang et al., J. Mol. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 2:33-38 (2000)), or homologs thereof. The ptb gene encodes an enzyme that can convert butyryl-CoA into butyryl-phosphate, which is then converted to butyrate via either of the buk gene products with the concomitant generation of ATP. The analogous set of transformations, that is, conversion of adipyl-CoA to adipyl-phosphate followed by conversion of adipyl-phosphate to adipate, can be carried out by the buk1, buk2, and ptb gene products. The protein sequences for each of these exemplary gene products can be found using the following GI numbers and/or GenBank identifiers:

[0302]Alternatively, an acetyltransferase capable of transferring the CoA group from adipyl-CoA to acetate can be applied. Similar transformations are catalyzed by the gene products of cat1, cat2, and cat3 of Clostridium kluyveri which have been shown to exhibit succinyl-CoA, 4-hydroxybutyryl-CoA, and butyryl-CoA acetyltransferase activity, respectively (Sohling and Gottschalk, J. Bacteriol. 178:871-880 (1996); Seedorf et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 105:2128-2133 (2008)). The protein sequences for each of these exemplary gene products can be found using the following GI numbers and/or GenBank identifiers:

[0303]Finally, though not as desirable from an energetic standpoint, the conversion of adipyl-CoA to adipate can also be carried out by an acyl-CoA hydrolase or equivalently a thioesterase. The top E. coli gene candidate is tesB (Naggert et al., J. Biol. Chem. 266:11044-11050 (1991)), which shows high similarity to the human acot8, which is a dicarboxylic acid acetyltransferase with activity on adipyl-CoA (Westin et al., J. Biol. Chem. 280:38125-38132 (2005)). This activity has also been characterized in the rat liver (Deana, Biochem. Int. 26:767-773 (1992)). The protein sequences for each of these exemplary gene products can be found using the following GI numbers and/or GenBank identifiers:

[0304]Other native candidate genes include tesA (Bonner and Bloch, J. Biol. Chem. 247:3123-3133 (1972)), ybgC (Kuznetsova et al., FEMS Microbiol. Rev. 29:263-279 (2005); Zhuang et al., FEBS Lett. 516:161-163 (2002)), paaI (Song et al., J. Biol. Chem. 281:11028-11038 (2006)), and ybdB (Leduc et al., J. Bacteriol. 189:7112-7126 (2007)). The protein sequences for each of these exemplary gene products can be found using the following GI numbers and/or GenBank identifiers:

[0305]The above description provides an exemplary adipate synthesis pathway by way of a reverse adipate degradation pathway.

Example II

Preparation of an Adipate Producing Microbial Organism Having a Reverse Degradation Pathway

[0306]This example describes the generation of a microbial organism capable of producing adipate using the reverse degradation pathway.

[0307]Escherichia coli is used as a target organism to engineer a reverse adipate degradation pathway as shown in FIG. 2. E. coli provides a good host for generating a non-naturally occurring microorganism capable of producing adipate. E. coli is amenable to genetic manipulation and is known to be capable of producing various products, like ethanol, acetic acid, formic acid, lactic acid, and succinic acid, effectively under anaerobic or microaerobic conditions.

[0308]To generate an E. coli strain engineered to produce adipate, nucleic acids encoding the enzymes utilized in the reverse degradation pathway are expressed in E. coli using well known molecular biology techniques (see, for example, Sambrook, supra, 2001; Ausubel supra, 1999). In particular, the paaJ (NP_—415915.1), paaH (NP_—415913.1), and maoC (NP_—415905.1) genes encoding the succinyl-CoA:acetyl-CoA acyl transferase, 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase, and 3-hydroxyadipyl-CoA dehydratase activities, respectively, are cloned into the pZE13 vector (Expressys, Ruelzheim, Germany) under the PA1/lacO promoter. In addition, the bcd (NP_—349317.1), etfAB (349315.1 and 349316.1), and sucCD (NP_—415256.1 and AAC73823.1) genes encoding 5-carboxy-2-pentenoyl-CoA reductase and adipyl-CoA synthetase activities, respectively, are cloned into the pZA33 vector (Expressys, Ruelzheim, Germany) under the PA1/lacO promoter. The two sets of plasmids are transformed into E. coli strain MG1655 to express the proteins and enzymes required for adipate synthesis via the reverse degradation pathway.

[0309]The resulting genetically engineered organism is cultured in glucose-containing medium following procedures well known in the art (see, for example, Sambrook et al., supra, 2001). The expression of reverse degradation pathway genes is corroborated using methods well known in the art for determining polypeptide expression or enzymatic activity, including for example, Northern blots, PCR amplification of mRNA, immunoblotting, and the like. Enzymatic activities of the expressed enzymes are confirmed using assays specific for the individual activities. The ability of the engineered E. coli strain to produce adipate is confirmed using HPLC, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS) and/or liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LCMS).

[0310]Microbial strains engineered to have a functional adipate synthesis pathway are further augmented by optimization for efficient utilization of the pathway. Briefly, the engineered strain is assessed to determine whether any of the exogenous genes are expressed at a rate limiting level. Expression is increased for any enzymes expressed at low levels that can limit the flux through the pathway by, for example, introduction of additional gene copy numbers.

[0311]To generate better producers, metabolic modeling is utilized to optimize growth conditions. Modeling is also used to design gene knockouts that additionally optimize utilization of the pathway (see, for example, U.S. patent publications US 2002/0012939, US 2003/0224363, US 2004/0029149, US 2004/0072723, US 2003/0059792, US 2002/0168654 and US 2004/0009466, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,127,379). Modeling analysis allows reliable predictions of the effects on cell growth of shifting the metabolism towards more efficient production of adipate. One modeling method is the bilevel optimization approach, OptKnock (Burgard et al., Biotechnol. Bioengineer. 84:647-657 (2003)), which is applied to select gene knockouts that collectively result in better production of adipate. Adaptive evolution also can be used to generate better producers of, for example, the acetyl-CoA and succinyl-CoA intermediates or the adipate product. Adaptive evolution is performed to improve both growth and production characteristics (Fong and Palsson, Nat. Genet. 36:1056-1058 (2004); Alper et al., Science 314:1565-1568 (2006)). Based on the results, subsequent rounds of modeling, genetic engineering and adaptive evolution can be applied to the adipate producer to further increase production.

[0312]For large-scale production of adipate, the above reverse degradation pathway-containing organism is cultured in a fermenter using a medium known in the art to support growth of the organism under anaerobic conditions. Fermentations are performed in either a batch, fed-batch or continuous manner. Anaerobic conditions are maintained by first sparging the medium with nitrogen and then sealing the culture vessel, for example, flasks can be sealed with a septum and crimp-cap. Microaerobic conditions also can be utilized by providing a small hole in the septum for limited aeration. The pH of the medium is maintained at a pH of around 7 by addition of an acid, such as H₂SO₄. The growth rate is determined by measuring optical density using a spectrophotometer (600 nm) and the glucose uptake rate by monitoring carbon source depletion over time. Byproducts such as undesirable alcohols, organic acids, and residual glucose can be quantified by HPLC (Shimadzu, Columbia Md.), for example, using an Aminex® series of HPLC columns (for example, HPX-87 series) (BioRad, Hercules Calif.), using a refractive index detector for glucose and alcohols, and a UV detector for organic acids (Lin et al., Biotechnol. Bioeng. 775-779 (2005)).

[0313]This example describes the preparation of an adipate producing microbial organism using a reverse degradation pathway.

Example III

Adipate Synthesis Through 3-Oxoadipate

[0314]This example describes an exemplary adipate synthesis pathway through 3-oxoadipate.

[0315]An additional pathway from that described in Examples I and II that uses acetyl-CoA and succinyl-CoA as precursors for adipate formation and passes through the metabolic intermediate, 3-oxoadipate, is shown in FIG. 3. The initial two transformations in this pathway are the two terminal steps of the degradation pathway for aromatic and choloroaromatic compounds operating in the reverse direction (Kaschabek et al., J. Bacteriol. 184:207-215 (2002); Nogales et al., Microbiol. 153:357-365 (2007); Ismail et al., Eur. J. Biochem. 270:3047-3054 (2003)). Specifically, the first step forms 3-oxoadipyl CoA by the condensation of succinyl- and acetyl-CoA. The second step forms 3-oxoadipate and is reported to be reversible in Pseudomonas sp. Strain B13 (Kaschabek et al., J. Bacteriol. 184:207-215 (2002)).

[0316]The subsequent steps involve reduction of 3-oxoadipate to 3-hydroxyadipate (conversion of a keto group to hydroxyl group), dehydration of 3-hydroxyadipate to yield hexa-2-enedioate, and reduction of hexa-2-enedioate to form adipate. These steps of the pathway are analogous to the conversion of oxaloacetate into succinate via the reductive TCA cycle (see FIG. 4). This supports the steps in the pathway being thermodynamically favorable subject to the presence of appropriate metabolite concentrations. The final reduction step can be carried out either biochemically or by employing a chemical catalyst to convert hexa-2-enedioate into adipate. Chemical hydrogenation can be performed using Pt catalyst on activated carbon as has been described in (Niu et al., Biotechnol. Prog. 18:201-211 (2002)).

[0317]The maximum theoretical yield of adipate using this pathway is 0.92 mole per mole glucose consumed, and oxygen is not required for attaining these yields (see Table 2). The associated energetics are identical to those of the reverse adipate pathway. Theoretically, ATP formation of up to 1.55 moles is observed per mole of glucose utilized through this pathway. The ATP yield improves to approximately 2.47 moles if phosphoenolpyruvate kinase (PPCK) is assumed to operate in the direction of ATP generation. Interestingly, the product yield can be increased further to 1 mole adipate per mole of glucose consumed if chemical hydrogenation is used for the last step and a 100% efficiency of catalysis is assumed. In this scenario, up to 1.95 moles of ATP are formed theoretically without assuming the reverse functionality of PPCK.

[0318]Successfully engineering this pathway involves identifying an appropriate set of enzymes with sufficient activity and specificity. This entails identifying an appropriate set of enzymes, cloning their corresponding genes into a production host, optimizing fermentation conditions, and assaying for product formation following fermentation. To engineer a production host for the production of adipate, one or more exogenous DNA sequence(s) can be expressed in a host microorganism. In addition, the host microorganism can have endogenous gene(s) functionally deleted. These modifications allow the production of adipate using renewable feedstock.

[0319]Described below are a number of biochemically characterized candidate genes capable of encoding enzymes that catalyze each step of the 3-oxoadipate pathway for adipate synthesis. Although this method is described for E. coli, one skilled in the art can apply these teachings to any other suitable host organism. Specifically, listed below are genes that are native to E. coli as well as genes in other organisms that can be applied to catalyze the appropriate transformations when properly cloned and expressed.

[0320]Referring to FIG. 3, step I involves succinyl CoA:acetyl CoA acyl transferase (β-ketothiolase). Gene candidates for this enzyme are listed above (FIG. 2, step I).

[0321]Referring to FIG. 3, step 2 involves 3-oxoadipyl-CoA transferase. In this step, 3-oxoadipate is formed by the transfer of the CoA group from 3-oxoadipyl-CoA to succinate. This activity is reported in a two-unit enzyme encoded by pcaI and pcaJ in Pseudomonas (Kaschabek et al., J. Bacteriol. 184:207-215 (2002)). This enzyme catalyzes a reversible transformation. The protein sequences of exemplary gene products for subunit A of this complex can be found using the following GI numbers and/or GenBank identifiers:

[0322]The protein sequences of exemplary gene products for subunit B of this complex can be found using the following GI numbers and/or GenBank identifiers:

[0323]Referring to FIG. 3, step 3 involves 3-oxoadipate reductase. E. coli has several candidate alcohol dehydrogenases; two that have analogous functions are malate dehydrogenase (mdh) and lactate dehydrogenase (ldhA). While it has not been shown that these two enzymes have broad substrate specificities in E. coli, lactate dehydrogenase from Ralstonia eutropha has been shown to demonstrate high activities on substrates of various chain lengths such as lactate, 2-oxobutyrate, 2-oxopentanoate and 2-oxoglutarate (Steinbuchel and Schlegel, Eur. J. Biochem. 130:329-334 (1983)). An additional non-native enzyme candidate for this step is the mitochondrial 3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (bdh) from the human heart which has been cloned and characterized (Marks et al., J. Biol. Chem. 267:15459-15463 (1992)). This enzyme is particularly interesting in that it is a dehydrogenase that operates on a 3-hydroxyacid. Given that dehydrogenases are typically reversible, it is expected that this gene product, or a homlog thereof, will be capable of reducing a 3-oxoacid, for example, 3-oxoadipate, to the corresponding 3-hydroxyacid, for example, 3-hydroxyadipate. The protein sequences for each of these exemplary gene products can be found using the following GI numbers and/or GenBank identifiers:

[0324]Referring to FIG. 3, step 4 involves 3-hydroxyadipate dehydratase. In this reaction, 3-hydroxyadipate is dehydrated to hexa-2-enedioate. Although no direct evidence for this enzymatic transformation has been identified, most dehydratases catalyze the α, β-elimination of water. This involves activation of the a-hydrogen by an electron-withdrawing carbonyl, carboxylate, or CoA-thiol ester group and removal of the hydroxyl group from the β-position (Martins et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 101:15645-15649 (2004); Buckel and Golding, FEMS Microbiol. Rev. 22:523-541 (1998)). The protein sequences for exemplary gene products can be found using the following GI numbers and/or GenBank identifiers:

[0325]Other good candidates for carrying out this function are the serine dehydratases. These enzymes catalyze a very similar transformation in the removal of ammonia from serine as required in this dehydration step. The protein sequence for exemplary gene product can be found using the following GI number and/or GenBank identifier:

[0326]Non-native gene candidates for this transformation have been identified as well. For example, the multi-subunit L-serine dehydratase from Peptostreptococcus asaccharolyticus was shown to complement an E. coli strain deficient in L-serine dehydratase activity (Hofineister et al., J. Bacteriol. 179:4937-4941 (1997)). Further, a putative 2-(hydroxymethyl)glutarate dehydratase, encoded by the gene hmd in Eubacterium barkeri shows similarity to both α- and β-subunits of [4Fe-4S]-containing bacterial serine dehydratases (Alhapel et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 103:12341-12346 (2006)). The protein sequence for exemplary gene product can be found using the following GI number and/or GenBank identifier:

[0327]Referring to FIG. 3, step 5 involves 2-enoate reductase. The final step in the 3-oxoadipate pathway is reduction of the double bond in hexa-3-enedioate to form adipate. Biochemically, this transformation can be catalyzed by 2-enoate reductase (EC 1.3.1.31) known to catalyze the NADH-dependent reduction of a wide variety of α, β-unsaturated carboxylic acids and aldehydes (Rohdich et al., J. Biol. Chem. 276:5779-5787 (2001)). This enzyme is encoded by enr in several species of Clostridia (Giesel and Simon, Arch. Microbiol. 135:51-57 (1983)) including C. tyrobutyricum and C. thermoaceticum (now called Moorella thermoaceticum) (Rohdich, et al., J. Biol. Chem. 276:5779-5787 (2001)). In the recently published genome sequence of C. kluyveri, 9 coding sequences for enoate reductases have been reported, out of which one has been characterized (Seedorf et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 105:2128-2133 (2008)). The enr genes from both C. tyrobutyricum and C. thermoaceticum have been cloned and sequenced and show 59% identity to each other. The former gene is also found to have approximately 75% similarity to the characterized gene in C. kluyveri (Giesel and Simon, Arch. Microbiol. 135:51-57 (1983)). It has been reported based on these sequence results that enr is very similar to the dienoyl CoA reductase in E. coli (fadH) (Rohdich et al., J. Biol. Chem. 276:5779-5787 (2001)). Several gene candidates thus exist for catalyzing this last step in the 3-oxoadipate pathway and have been listed below. The C. thermoaceticum enr gene has also been expressed in an enzymatically active form in E. coli (Rohdich et al., supra, 2001). The protein sequences for exemplary gene products can be found using the following GI numbers and/or GenBank identifiers:

[0328]The above description provides an exemplary adipate synthesis pathway by way of an 3-oxoadipate pathway.

Example IV

Preparation of an Adipate Producing Microbial Organism Having a 3-Oxoadipate Pathway

[0329]This example describes the generation of a microbial organism capable of producing adipate using the 3-oxoadipate pathway.

[0330]Escherichia coli is used as a target organism to engineer the 3-oxoadipate pathway as shown in FIG. 3. E. coli provides a good host for generating a non-naturally occurring microorganism capable of producing adipate. E. coli is amenable to genetic manipulation and is known to be capable of producing various products, like ethanol, acetic acid, formic acid, lactic acid, and succinic acid, effectively under anaerobic or microaerobic conditions.

[0331]To generate an E. coli strain engineered to produce adipate, nucleic acids encoding the enzymes utilized in the 3-oxoadipate pathway are expressed in E. coli using well known molecular biology techniques (see, for example, Sambrook, supra, 2001; Ausubel supra, 1999). In particular, the paaJ (NP_—415915.1), pcaIJ (AAN69545.1 and NP_—746082.1), and bdh (AAA58352.1) genes encoding the succinyl-CoA:acetyl-CoA acyl transferase, 3-oxoadipyl-CoA transferase, and 3-oxoadipate reductase activities, respectively, are cloned into the pZE13 vector (Expressys, Ruelzheim, Germany) under the PA1/lacO promoter. In addition, the acnA (P25516.3) and enr (ACA54153.1) genes encoding 3-hydroxyadipate dehydratase and 2-enoate reductase activities, respectively, are cloned into the pZA33 vector (Expressys, Ruelzheim, Germany) under the PA1/lacO promoter. The two sets of plasmids are transformed into E. coli strain MG1655 to express the proteins and enzymes required for adipate synthesis via the 3-oxoadipate pathway.

[0332]The resulting genetically engineered organism is cultured in glucose containing medium following procedures well known in the art (see, for example, Sambrook et al., supra, 2001). The expression of the 3-oxoadipate pathway genes for adipate synthesis is corroborated using methods well known in the art for determining polypeptide expression or enzymatic activity, including for example, Northern blots, PCR amplification of mRNA, immunoblotting, and the like. Enzymatic activities of the expressed enzymes are confirmed using assays specific for the individual activities. The ability of the engineered E. coli strain to produce adipate is confirmed using HPLC, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS) and/or liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LCMS).

[0333]Microbial strains engineered to have a functional adipate synthesis pathway are further augmented by optimization for efficient utilization of the pathway. Briefly, the engineered strain is assessed to determine whether any of the exogenous genes are expressed at a rate limiting level. Expression is increased for any enzymes expressed at low levels that can limit the flux through the pathway by, for example, introduction of additional gene copy numbers.

[0334]To generate better producers, metabolic modeling is utilized to optimize growth conditions. Modeling is also used to design gene knockouts that additionally optimize utilization of the pathway (see, for example, U.S. patent publications US 2002/0012939, US 2003/0224363, US 2004/0029149, US 2004/0072723, US 2003/0059792, US 2002/0168654 and US 2004/0009466, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,127,379). Modeling analysis allows reliable predictions of the effects on cell growth of shifting the metabolism towards more efficient production of adipate. One modeling method is the bilevel optimization approach, OptKnock (Burgard et al., Biotechnol. Bioengineer. 84:647-657 (2003)), which is applied to select gene knockouts that collectively result in better production of adipate. Adaptive evolution also can be used to generate better producers of, for example, the acetyl-CoA and succinyl-CoA intermediates or the adipate product. Adaptive evolution is performed to improve both growth and production characteristics (Fong and Palsson, Nat. Genet. 36:1056-1058 (2004); Alper et al., Science 314:1565-1568 (2006)). Based on the results, subsequent rounds of modeling, genetic engineering and adaptive evolution can be applied to the adipate producer to further increase production.

[0335]For large-scale production of adipate, the 3-oxoadipate pathway-containing organism is cultured in a fermenter using a medium known in the art to support growth of the organism under anaerobic conditions. Fermentations are performed in either a batch, fed-batch or continuous manner. Anaerobic conditions are maintained by first sparging the medium with nitrogen and then sealing the culture vessel, for example, flasks can be sealed with a septum and crimp-cap. Microaerobic conditions also can be utilized by providing a small hole in the septum for limited aeration. The pH of the medium is maintained at around a pH of 7 by addition of an acid, such as H₂SO₄. The growth rate is determined by measuring optical density using a spectrophotometer (600 nm) and the glucose uptake rate by monitoring carbon source depletion over time. Byproducts such as undesirable alcohols, organic acids, and residual glucose can be quantified by HPLC (Shimadzu), for example, using an Aminex® series of HPLC columns (for example, HPX-87 series) (BioRad), using a refractive index detector for glucose and alcohols, and a UV detector for organic acids (Lin et al., Biotechnol. Bioeng. 775-779 (2005)).

[0336]This example describes the preparation of an adipate-producing microbial organism containing a 3-oxidoadipate pathway.

Example V

Adipate Synthesis via cis,cis-Muconic Acid

[0337]This example describes an adipate synthesis pathway previously described (see Niu et al., Biotechnol. Prog. 18(2): p. 201-11. 2002; Frost et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,987, issued Jan. 30, 1996).

[0338]Adipate synthesis via a combined biological and chemical conversion process has been previously described. (Niu et al., Biotechnol. Prog. 18:201-211 (2002)) and is shown in FIG. 5. This method is further described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,987. Adipate synthesis through this route entails introduction of three heterologous genes into E. coli that can convert dehydroshikimate into cis,cis-muconic acid (Niu et al., supra, 2002). A final chemical hydrogenation step leads to the formation of adipic acid. In this step, the pretreated fermentation broth that contained 150 mM cis,cis-muconate was mixed with 10% platinum (Pt) on activated carbon. The hydrogenation reaction was carried out at 3400 KPa of hydrogen pressure for two and a half hour at 250° C. with stirring. The calculated adipate yields are shown in Table 3 assuming either an enzymatic or chemical catalysis step is utilized to convert cis,cis-muconate into adipate. Under aerobic conditions, an 85% molar yield of adipate can be obtained if a chemical reaction is employed for hydrogenation and a 75% molar yield is obtained if an NADH-based hydrogenase is used.

[0339]Although this is an exemplary method, there are disadvantages of this method compared to others, such as those described in Examples I-IV. For example, the first limitation of this method is the lower theoretical yields compared to the reverse adipate degradation and 3-oxoadipate pathways. The second limitation is that the ATP yields of this pathway are negligible. A third limitation of this pathway is that it involves a dioxygenase, necessitating a supply of oxygen to the bioreactor and precluding the option of anaerobic fermentation.

[0340]The above description provides an exemplary adipate synthesis pathway by way of a cis,cis-muconic acid pathway

Example VI

Adipate Synthesis via Alpha-Ketoadipate

[0341]This example describes an exemplary adipate synthesis pathway via an alpha-ketoadipate pathway.

[0342]Alpha-keto adipate is a known intermediate in lysine biosynthesis in S. cerevisiae, and this information was used to identify an additional pathway for adipic acid biosynthesis (see FIG. 6). Conversion of alpha-ketoglutarate to alpha-ketoadipate is catalyzed by homocitrate synthase, homoaconitase, and homoisocitrate dehydrogenase as indicated by dashed arrows in FIG. 6. Conversion of alpha-ketoadipate into alpha-hydroxyadipate can be catalyzed by 2-ketoadipate reductase, an enzyme reported to be found in rat and in human placenta (Suda et al., Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 176:610-620 (1976); Suda et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 77:586-591 (1977). Subsequent steps involve a dehydratase for the conversion of alpha-hydroxyadipate into hexa-2-enedioate followed by its reduction to adipic acid. This last step can be catalyzed either by an enzyme or can take place through a chemical reaction as described in Example II. Genes encoding the enzymes for the alpha-ketoadipate pathway are identified as described in Examples I-IV.

[0343]The adipate yields associated with this pathway are shown in Table 4. Because of the loss of two CO₂ molecules during the conversion of acetyl-CoA to adipate, only 67% of the glucose can be converted into adipate. This is reflected in the molar yields for this pathway under aerobic conditions. The yields are further reduced in the absence of oxygen uptake. Also since the maximum ATP yields under anaerobic conditions are negligible, the engineered organism will have to utilize additional substrate to form energy for cell growth and maintenance under such conditions.

[0344]The above description provides an exemplary adipate synthesis pathway by way of an alpha-ketoadipate pathway.

Example VII

Adipate Synthesis via Lysine Degradation

[0345]This example describes an exemplary adipate synthesis pathway via a lysine degradation pathway.

[0346]Two additional pathways for adipate synthesis rely on lysine degradation to form adipate. One pathway starts from alpha-ketoglutarate to form lysine (pathway non-native to E. coli and found in S. cerevisiae), and the other uses aspartate as a starting point for lysine biosynthesis (pathway native to E. coli). FIG. 7 shows adipate formation from lysine. The maximum theoretical yields for adipate, both in the presence and absence of oxygen, using the E. coli stoichiometric model are shown in Tables 5 and 6, with alpha-ketoglutarate and aspartate as the respective starting points for lysine. The maximum ATP yields accompanying these theoretical yields were also calculated and are shown in the same tables. These yields are lower in comparison to the other pathways described in Examples I-IV. Genes encoding the enzymes for the alpha-ketoadipate pathway are identified as described in Examples I-IV.

[0347]The above description provides an exemplary adipate synthesis pathway by way of a lysine degradation pathway.

Example VIII

Production of Caprolactam and 6-Aminocaproic Acid via Adipyl-CoA

[0348]This example describes an exemplary caprolactam and/or 6-aminocaproic acid synthesis pathway via an adipyl-CoA pathway.

[0349]An exemplary pathway for forming caprolactam and/or 6-aminocaproic acid using adipyl-CoA as the precursor is shown in FIG. 8. The pathway involves a CoA-dependant aldehyde dehydrogenase that can reduce adipyl-CoA to adipate semialdehyde and a transaminase or 6-aminocaproate dehydrogenase that can transform this molecule into 6-aminocaproic acid. The terminal step that converts 6-aminocaproate into caprolactam can be accomplished either via an amidohydrolase or via chemical conversion (Guit and Buijs, U.S. Pat. No. 6,353,100, issued Mar. 7, 2002; Wolters et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,700,934, issued Dec. 23, 1997; Agterberg et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,660,857, issued Dec. 9, 2003). The maximum theoretical yield of caprolactam was calculated to be 0.8 mole per mole glucose consumed (see Table 7) assuming that the reverse adipate degradation pathway was complemented with the reaction scheme shown in FIG. 8. The pathway is favorable energetically as up to 0.78 moles of ATP are formed per mole of glucose consumed at the maximum theoretical yield of caprolactam. The ATP yield can be further improved to 1.63 moles of ATP produced per mole of glucose if phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PPCK) is assumed to function in the ATP-generating direction towards oxaloacetate formation.

[0350]The final amidohydrolase step is energetically and redox neutral, and thus the product and ATP molar yields associated with 6-aminocaproic acid production are equivalent to those associated with caprolactam production. Thus one can alternatively envision a microorganism and associated fermentation process that forms 6-aminocaproic acid instead of caprolactam followed by an additional unit operation to dehydrate/cyclize 6-aminocaproic acid to caprolactam.

[0351]Successfully engineering this pathway involves identifying an appropriate set of enzymes with sufficient activity and specificity. This entails identifying an appropriate set of enzymes, cloning their corresponding genes into a production host, optimizing fermentation conditions, and assaying for product formation following fermentation. To engineer a production host for the production of 6-aminocaproic acid or caprolactam, one or more exogenous DNA sequence(s) can be expressed in a host microorganism. In addition, the microorganism can have endogenous gene(s) functionally deleted. These modifications will allow the production of 6-aminocaproate or caprolactam using renewable feedstock.

[0352]Below is described a number of biochemically characterized candidate genes capable of encoding enzymes that catalyze each step of the caprolactam formation pathway described in FIG. 8. Although described for E. coli, one skilled in the art can apply these teachings to any other suitable host organism. Specifically, the genes listed are native to E. coli or are genes in other organisms that can be applied to catalyze the appropriate transformations when properly cloned and expressed.

[0353]Referring to FIG. 8, step I involves CoA-dependant aldehyde dehydrogenase. Exemplary genes that encode enzymes for catalyzing the reduction of an acyl-coA to its corresponding aldehyde include the Acinetobacter calcoaceticus acr1 encoding a fatty acyl-CoA reductase (Reiser and Somerville, J. Bacteriol. 179:2969-2975 (1997)), the Acinetobacter sp. M-1 fatty acyl-CoA reductase (Ishige et al., Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 68:1192-1195 (2002)) and the sucD gene from Clostridium kluyveri (Sohling and Gottschalk, J. Bacteriol. 178:871-880 (1996)), which can convert succinyl-CoA to succinate semialdehyde.

[0354]Referring to FIG. 8, step 2 involves transaminase. The second step in the pathway is conversion of the 6-aldehyde to an amine This transformation can likely be accomplished by gamma-aminobutyrate transaminase (GABA transaminase), a native enzyme encoded by gabT that transfers an amino group from glutamate to the terminal aldehyde of succinyl semialdehyde (Bartsch et al., J. Bacteriol. 172:7035-7042 (1990)). The gene product of puuE catalyzes another 4-aminobutyrate transaminase in E. coli (Kurihara et al., J. Biol. Chem. 280:4602-4608 (2005)). GABA transaminases in Mus musculus, Pseudomonas fluorescens, and Sus scrofa have been shown to react with 6-aminocaproic acid (Cooper, Methods Enzymol. 113:80-82 (1985); Scott and Jakoby, J. Biol. Chem. 234:932-936 (1959)). The protein sequences for exemplary gene products can be found using the following GI numbers and/or GenBank identifiers:

[0355]Referring to FIG. 8, step 2 can alternatively involve 6-aminocaproate dehydrogenase which comprises the reductive amination of adipate semialdehyde to form 6-aminocaproate. This transformation can be accomplished by lysine-6-dehydrogenase, which naturally converts L-lysine to 2-aminoadipate-6-semialdehyde. Exemplary enzymes can be found in Geobacillus stearothermophilus (Heydari et al., Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 70(2):937-942 (2004)), Agrobacterium tumefaciens (Hashimoto et al., J. Biochem. (Tokyo), 106(1):76-80 (1989); Misono et al., J. Biochem. (Tokyo), 105(6):1002-1008 (1989)), and Achromobacter denitrificans (Ruldeekulthamrong et al., BMB Reports 790-795 (2008)).

[0356]Referring to FIG. 8, step 3 involves amidohydrolase. The final step of caprolactam synthesis is cyclization of 6-aminocaproic acid. This transformation has not been characterized enzymatically but it is very similar to the cyclization of lysine by D-lysine lactamase (EC 3.5.2.11) from Cryptococcus laurentii (Fukumura et al., FEBS Lett. 89:298-300 (1978)). However, the protein and nucleotide sequences of this enzyme are not currently known and, so far, lysine lactamase activity has not been demonstrated in other organisms.

[0357]Plasmids contained in several strains of Pseudomonas sp. isolated from soil have been shown to confer ability to grow on caprolactam as a sole carbon source (Boronin et al., FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 22:167-170 (1984)); however, associated gene or protein sequences have not been associated with this function to date.

[0358]The most closely related candidate enzyme with available sequence information is 6-aminohexanoate-cyclic dimer hydrolase, which has been characterized in Pseudomonas sp. and Flavobacterium sp. The nylB gene product from Pseudomonas sp NK87 was cloned and expressed in E. coli (Kanagawa et al., J. Gen. Microbiol. 139:787-795 (1993)). The substrate specificity of the enzyme was tested in Flavobacterium sp K172 and was shown to react with higher-order oligomers of 6-aminohexanoate but not caprolactam (Kinoshita et al., Eur. J. Biochem. 116:547-551 (1981)). The reversibility and ability of 6-aminohexanoate dimer hydrolases in other organisms to react with the desired substrate in the direction of interest can be further tested. The protein sequences for exemplary gene products can be found using the following GI numbers and/or GenBank identifiers:

[0359]The above description provides an exemplary pathway to produce caprolactam and/or 6-aminocaproic acid by way of an adipyl-CoA pathway.

Example IX

Preparation of a 6-Aminocaproate or Caprolactam Producing Microbial Organism Having a 3-Oxoadipate Pathway

[0360]This example describes the generation of a microbial organism capable of producing adipate using the reverse degradation pathway and converting the intracellular adipate to 6-aminocaproate and/or caprolactam.

[0361]Escherichia coli is used as a target organism to engineer the necessary genes for adipate, 6-aminocaproate, and/or caprolactam synthesis (see FIG. 2 and FIG. 8). E. coli provides a good host for generating a non-naturally occurring microorganism capable of producing adipate, 6-aminocaproate, and/or caprolactam. E. coli is amenable to genetic manipulation and is known to be capable of producing various products, like ethanol, acetic acid, formic acid, lactic acid, and succinic acid, effectively under anaerobic or microaerobic conditions.

[0362]To generate an E. coli strain engineered to produce 6-aminocaproate and/or caprolactam, nucleic acids encoding the enzymes utilized in the reverse adipate degradation pathway and 6-aminocaproate or caprolactam synthesis pathways are expressed in E. coli using well known molecular biology techniques (see, for example, Sambrook, supra, 2001; Ausubel, supra, 1999). In particular, the paaJ (NP_—415915.1), paaH (NP_—415913.1), and maoC (NP_—415905.1) genes encoding the succinyl-CoA:acetyl-CoA acyl transferase, 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase, and 3-hydroxyadipyl-CoA dehydratase activities, respectively, are cloned into the pZE13 vector (Expressys, Ruelzheim, Germany) under the PA1/lacO promoter. In addition, the bcd (NP_—349317.1), etfAB (349315.1 and 349316.1), and sucCD (NP_—415256.1 and AAC73823.1) genes encoding 5-carboxy-2-pentenoyl-CoA reductase and adipyl-CoA synthetase activities, respectively, are cloned into the pZA33 vector (Expressys, Ruelzheim, Germany) under the PA1/lacO promoter. Lastly, the acr1 (YP_—047869.1), gabT (NP_—417148.1), and nylB (AAA24929.1) genes encoding CoA-dependent aldehyde dehydrogenase, transaminase, and amidohydrolase activities are cloned into a third compatible plasmid, pZS23, under the PA1/lacO promoter. pZS23 is obtained by replacing the ampicillin resistance module of the pZS13 vector (Expressys, Ruelzheim, Germany) with a kanamycin resistance module by well-known molecular biology techniques. The three sets of plasmids are transformed into E. coli strain MG1655 to express the proteins and enzymes required for 6-aminocaproate and/or caprolactam synthesis.

[0363]The resulting genetically engineered organism is cultured in glucose containing medium following procedures well known in the art (see, for example, Sambrook et al., supra, 2001). The expression of the 6-aminocaproate and caprolactam synthesis genes is corroborated using methods well known in the art for determining polypeptide expression or enzymatic activity, including for example, Northern blots, PCR amplification of mRNA, immunoblotting, and the like. Enzymatic activities of the expressed enzymes are confirmed using assays specific for the individual activities. The ability of the engineered E. coli strain to produce 6-aminocaproate and/or caprolactam is confirmed using HPLC, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS) and/or liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LCMS).

[0364]Microbial strains engineered to have a functional pathway for the synthesis of 6-aminocaproate and/or caprolactam are further augmented by optimization for efficient utilization of the pathway. Briefly, the engineered strain is assessed to determine whether any of the exogenous genes are expressed at a rate limiting level. Expression is increased for any enzymes expressed at low levels that can limit the flux through the pathway by, for example, introduction of additional gene copy numbers.

[0365]To generate better producers, metabolic modeling is utilized to optimize growth conditions. Modeling is also used to design gene knockouts that additionally optimize utilization of the pathway (see, for example, U.S. patent publications US 2002/0012939, US 2003/0224363, US 2004/0029149, US 2004/0072723, US 2003/0059792, US 2002/0168654 and US 2004/0009466, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,127,379). Modeling analysis allows reliable predictions of the effects on cell growth of shifting the metabolism towards more efficient production of 6-aminocaproate and/or caprolactam. One modeling method is the bilevel optimization approach, OptKnock (Burgard et al., Biotechnol. Bioengineer. 84:647-657 (2003)), which is applied to select gene knockouts that collectively result in better production of 6-aminocaproate and/or caprolactam. Adaptive evolution also can be used to generate better producers of, for example, the acetyl-CoA and succinyl-CoA intermediates of the products. Adaptive evolution is performed to improve both growth and production characteristics (Fong and Palsson, Nat. Genet. 36:1056-1058 (2004); Alper et al., Science 314:1565-1568 (2006)). Based on the results, subsequent rounds of modeling, genetic engineering and adaptive evolution can be applied to the 6-aminocaproate and/or caprolactam producer to further increase production.

[0366]For large-scale production of 6-aminocaproate and/or caprolactam, the above organism is cultured in a fermenter using a medium known in the art to support growth of the organism under anaerobic conditions. Fermentations are performed in either a batch, fed-batch or continuous manner. Anaerobic conditions are maintained by first sparging the medium with nitrogen and then sealing the culture vessel, for example, flasks can be sealed with a septum and crimp-cap. Microaerobic conditions also can be utilized by providing a small hole in the septum for limited aeration. The pH of the medium is maintained at around a pH of 7 by addition of an acid, such as H₂SO₄. The growth rate is determined by measuring optical density using a spectrophotometer (600 nm) and the glucose uptake rate by monitoring carbon source depletion over time. Byproducts such as undesirable alcohols, organic acids, and residual glucose can be quantified by HPLC (Shimadzu), for example, using an Aminex® series of HPLC columns (for example, HPX-87 series) (BioRad), using a refractive index detector for glucose and alcohols, and a UV detector for organic acids (Lin et al., Biotechnol. Bioeng. 775-779 (2005)).

Example X

Adipate Synthesis via 2-Hydroxyadipyl-CoA

[0367]This example describes two exemplary adipate synthesis pathways proceeding from alpha-ketoadipate and passing through a 2-hydroxyadipyl-CoA intermediate.

[0368]As described in example VI, alpha-ketoadipate is a known intermediate in lysine biosynthesis that can be formed from alpha-ketoglutarate via homocitrate synthase, homoaconitase, and homoisocitrate dehydrogenase. Alpha-ketoadipate can be converted to 2-hydroxyadipyl-CoA by the two routes depicted in FIG. 9. 2-hydroxyadipyl-CoA can be subsequently dehydrated and reduced to adipyl-CoA which can then be converted to adipate as shown in FIG. 9. The maximum yield of adipate from glucose via these pathways is 0.67 mol/mol.

[0369]Conversion of alpha-ketoadipate into 2-hydroxyadipate can be catalyzed by 2-ketoadipate reductase, an enzyme reported to be found in rat and in human placenta (Suda et al., Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 176:610-620 (1976); Suda et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 77:586-591 (1977). Alternatively, enzymes capable of reducing alpha-ketoglutarate to 2-hydroxyglutarate may also show activity on alpha-ketoadipate, which is only one carbon atom longer. One such enzyme possessing alpha-ketoglutarate reductase activity is serA of Escherichia coli (Zhao and Winkler, J. Bacteriol. 178(1):232-9 (1996)). Additional exemplary enzymes can be found in Arabidopsis thaliana (Ho, et al., J. Biol. Chem. 274(1):397-402 (1999)) and Haemophilus influenzae.

[0370]Referring to FIG. 9, 2-hydroxyadipate can likely be converted to 2-hydroxyadipyl-CoA by the synthetases, transferases, phosphotransadipylases and kinases described in example I. Alternatively, enzymes with 2-hydroxyglutarate CoA-transferase or glutaconate CoA-transferase activity are likely suitable to transfer a CoA moiety to 2-hydroxyadipate. One example of such an enzyme is encoded by the gctA and gctB genes of Acidaminococcus fermentans (Buckel, et al., Eur. J. Biochem. 118(2):315-321 (1981); Mack, et al., Eur. J. Biochem. 226(1):41-51 (1994)). Similarly, synthetase, transferase, or phosphotransadipylase and kinase activities would be required to convert alpha-ketoadipate into alpha-ketoadipyl-CoA, as depicted in FIG. 9. Conversion of alpha-ketoadipyl-CoA to 2-hydroxyadipyl-CoA can be carried out by an alpha-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase enzyme. A similar activity was reported in propionate-adapted E. coli cells whose extracts catalyzed the oxidation of lactyl-CoA to form pyruvyl-CoA (Megraw et al., J. Bacteriol. 90(4): 984-988 (1965)). Additional hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenases were described in example I.

[0371]The dehydration of 2-hydroxyadipyl-CoA to form 5-carboxy-2-pentenoyl-CoA can be carried out by a 2-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydratase. A 2-hydroxyglutaryl-CoA dehydratase system has been characterized in Acidaminococcus fermentans and requires both the hgdA and hgdB subunits and the activator protein, hgdC, for optimal activity (Dutscho et al., Eur. J. Biochem. 181(3):741-746 (1989); Locher et al. J. Mol. Biol. 307(1):297-308; Muller and Buckel, Eur. J. Biochem. 230(2):698-704 (2001); Schweiger et al. Eur. J. Biochem. 169(2):441-448 (1987)). This enzyme system is similar in mechanism to the lactoyl-CoA dehydratase from Clostridium propionicum (Hofineister and Buckel, Eur. J. Biochem. 206(2):547-552 (1992); Kuchta and Abeles, J. Biol. Chem. 260(24):13181-13189 (1985)). Homologs to hgdA, hgdB, and hgdC exist in several organisms.

[0372]Conversion of 5-carboxy-2-pentenoyl-CoA to adipate is carried out by the enzymes described in Example I.

[0373]The above description provides an exemplary adipate synthesis pathway by way of a 2-hydroxyadipyl-CoA pathway.

Example XI

Preparation of an Adipate Producing Microbial Organism Having a 2-Hydroxyadipyl-CoA Pathway

[0374]This example describes the generation of a microbial organism capable of producing adipate using a 2-hydroxyadipyl-CoA pathway.

[0375]Escherichia coli is used as a target organism to engineer the necessary genes for adipate synthesis (see FIG. 9). E. coli provides a good host for generating a non-naturally occurring microorganism capable of producing adipate. E. coli is amenable to genetic manipulation and is known to be capable of producing various products, like ethanol, acetic acid, formic acid, lactic acid, and succinic acid, effectively under anaerobic or microaerobic conditions.

[0376]To generate an E. coli strain engineered to produce adipate, nucleic acids encoding the enzymes utilized in a 2-hydroxyadipyl-CoA to adipate pathway are expressed in E. coli using well known molecular biology techniques (see, for example, Sambrook, supra, 2001; Ausubel, supra, 1999). In particular, the serA (NP_—417388.1), gctA (Q59111), and gctB (Q59112) genes encoding the 2-hydroxyadipate dehydrogenase and 2-hydroxyadipyl-CoA:acetyl-CoA transferase activities, respectively, are cloned into the pZE13 vector (Expressys, Ruelzheim, Germany) under the PA1/lacO promoter. In addition, the hgdA (P11569), hgdB (P11570), and hgdC (P11568) genes encoding 2-hydroxyadipyl-CoA dehydratase activity, respectively, are cloned into the pZA33 vector (Expressys, Ruelzheim, Germany) under the PA1/lacO promoter. Further, the bcd (NP_—349317.1), etfAB (349315.1 and 349316.1), and sucCD (NP_—415256.1 and AAC73823.1) genes encoding 5-carboxy-2-pentenoyl-CoA reductase and adipyl-CoA synthetase activities are cloned into a third compatible plasmid, pZS23, under the PA1/lacO promoter. pZS23 is obtained by replacing the ampicillin resistance module of the pZS13 vector (Expressys, Ruelzheim, Germany) with a kanamycin resistance module by well-known molecular biology techniques. The three sets of plasmids are transformed into E. coli strain MG1655 to express the proteins and enzymes required for adipate synthesis.

[0377]The resulting genetically engineered organism is cultured in glucose containing medium following procedures well known in the art (see, for example, Sambrook et al., supra, 2001). The expression of the 2-hydroxyadipyl-CoA pathway genes for adipate synthesis is corroborated using methods well known in the art for determining polypeptide expression or enzymatic activity, including for example, Northern blots, PCR amplification of mRNA, immunoblotting, and the like. Enzymatic activities of the expressed enzymes are confirmed using assays specific for the individual activities. The ability of the engineered E. coli strain to produce adipate is confirmed using HPLC, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS) and/or liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LCMS).

[0378]Microbial strains engineered to have a functional adipate synthesis pathway are further augmented by optimization for efficient utilization of the pathway. Briefly, the engineered strain is assessed to determine whether any of the exogenous genes are expressed at a rate limiting level. Expression is increased for any enzymes expressed at low levels that can limit the flux through the pathway by, for example, introduction of additional gene copy numbers.

[0379]To generate better producers, metabolic modeling is utilized to optimize growth conditions. Modeling is also used to design gene knockouts that additionally optimize utilization of the pathway (see, for example, U.S. patent publications US 2002/0012939, US 2003/0224363, US 2004/0029149, US 2004/0072723, US 2003/0059792, US 2002/0168654 and US 2004/0009466, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,127,379). Modeling analysis allows reliable predictions of the effects on cell growth of shifting the metabolism towards more efficient production of adipate. One modeling method is the bilevel optimization approach, OptKnock (Burgard et al., Biotechnol. Bioengineer. 84:647-657 (2003)), which is applied to select gene knockouts that collectively result in better production of adipate. Adaptive evolution also can be used to generate better producers of, for example, the alpha-ketoadipate intermediate or the adipate product. Adaptive evolution is performed to improve both growth and production characteristics (Fong and Palsson, Nat. Genet. 36:1056-1058 (2004); Alper et al., Science 314:1565-1568 (2006)). Based on the results, subsequent rounds of modeling, genetic engineering and adaptive evolution can be applied to the adipate producer to further increase production.

[0380]For large-scale production of adipate, the 2-hydroxyadipyl-CoA pathway-containing organism is cultured in a fermenter using a medium known in the art to support growth of the organism under anaerobic conditions. Fermentations are performed in either a batch, fed-batch or continuous manner. Anaerobic conditions are maintained by first sparging the medium with nitrogen and then sealing the culture vessel, for example, flasks can be sealed with a septum and crimp-cap. Microaerobic conditions also can be utilized by providing a small hole in the septum for limited aeration. The pH of the medium is maintained at around a pH of 7 by addition of an acid, such as H₂SO₄. The growth rate is determined by measuring optical density using a spectrophotometer (600 nm) and the glucose uptake rate by monitoring carbon source depletion over time. Byproducts such as undesirable alcohols, organic acids, and residual glucose can be quantified by HPLC (Shimadzu), for example, using an Aminex® series of HPLC columns (for example, HPX-87 series) (BioRad), using a refractive index detector for glucose and alcohols, and a UV detector for organic acids (Lin et al., Biotechnol. Bioeng. 775-779 (2005)).

[0381]This example describes the preparation of an adipate-producing microbial organism containing a 2-hydroxyadipyl-CoA pathway.

Example XII

Pathways for Production of Hexamethylenediamine, Caprolactam and 6-Aminocaproic Acid

[0382]This example describes exemplary pathways for production of hexamethylenediamine, caprolactam and 6-aminocaproic acid.

[0383]Described below are various pathways leading to the production of caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine (HMDA), or 6-aminocaproate from common central metabolites. The first described pathway entails the activation of 6-aminocaproate to 6-aminocaproyl-CoA by a transferase or synthase enzyme (FIG. 10, Step Q or R) followed by the spontaneous cyclization of 6-aminocaproyl-CoA to form caprolactam (FIG. 10, Step T). The second described pathway entails the activation of 6-aminocaproate to 6-aminocaproyl-CoA (FIG. 10, Step Q or R), followed by a reduction (FIG. 10, Step U) and amination (FIG. 10, Step V or W) to form HMDA. 6-Aminocaproic acid can alternatively be activated to 6-aminocaproyl-phosphate instead of 6-aminocaproyl-CoA. 6-Aminocaproyl-phosphate can spontaneously cyclize to form caprolactam. Alternatively, 6-aminocaproyl-phosphate can be reduced to 6-aminocaproate semialdehye, which can be then converted to HMDA as depicted in FIGS. 10 and 11. In either this case, the amination reaction must occur relatively quickly to minimize the spontaneous formation of the cyclic imine of 6-aminocaproate semialdehyde. Linking or scaffolding the participating enzymes represents a potentially powerful option for ensuring that the 6-aminocaproate semialdehyde intermediate is efficiently channeled from the reductase enzyme to the amination enzyme.

[0384]Another option for minimizing or even eliminating the formation of the cyclic imine or caprolactam during the conversion of 6-aminocaproic acid to HMDA entails adding a functional group (for example, acetyl, succinyl) to the amine group of 6-aminocaproic acid to protect it from cyclization. This is analogous to ornithine formation from L-glutamate in Escherichia coli. Specifically, glutamate is first converted to N-acetyl-L-glutamate by N-acetylglutamate synthase. N-Acetyl-L-glutamate is then activated to N-acetylglutamyl-phosphate, which is reduced and transaminated to form N-acetyl-L-ornithine. The acetyl group is then removed from N-acetyl-L-ornithine by N-acetyl-L-ornithine deacetylase forming L-ornithine. Such a route is necessary because formation of glutamate-5-phosphate from glutamate followed by reduction to glutamate-5-semialdehyde leads to the formation of (S)-1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate, a cyclic imine formed spontaneously from glutamate-5-semialdehyde. In the case of forming HMDA from 6-aminocaproic acid, the steps can involve acetylating 6-aminocaproic acid to acetyl-6-aminocaproic acid, activating the carboxylic acid group with a CoA or phosphate group, reducing, aminating, and deacetylating.

[0385]Note that 6-aminocaproate can be formed from various starting molecules. For example, the carbon backbone of 6-aminocaproate can be derived from succinyl-CoA and acetyl-CoA as depicted in FIG. 10 and also described in FIGS. 2, 3 and 8. Alternatively, 6-aminocaproate can be derived from alpha-ketoadipate, where alpha-ketoadipate is converted to adipyl-CoA (see FIG. 9), and adipyl-CoA is converted to 6-aminocaproate as shown in FIG. 10.

[0386]FIG. 11 provides two additional metabolic pathways to 6-aminocaproate or 6-aminocapropyl-CoA starting from 4-aminobutyryl-CoA and acetyl-CoA. The first route entails the condensation of 4-aminobutyryl-CoA and acetyl-CoA to form 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA (Step A) followed by a reduction (Step B), dehydration (Step C), and reduction (Step D) to form 6-aminocaproyl-CoA. 6-Aminocaproyl-CoA can be converted to 6-aminocaproate by a transferase (Step K), synthase (Step L), or hydrolase (Step M) enzyme. Alternatively, 6-aminocaproyl-CoA can be converted to caprolactam by spontaneous cyclization (Step Q) or to HMDA following its reduction (Step N) and amination (Step O or P). The second pathway described in FIG. 11 entails the condensation of 4-aminobutyryl-CoA and acetyl-CoA to form 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA (Step A) which is then converted to 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoate by a transferase (Step E), synthase (Step F), or hydrolase (Step G). 3-Oxo-6-aminohexanoate is then reduced (Step H), dehydrated (Step I), and reduced (Step J) to form 6-aminocaproate.

[0387]The starting molecule, 4-aminobutyryl-CoA, can be formed from various common central metabolites. For example, glutamate can be decarboxylated to 4-aminobutyrate, which is then activated by a CoA-transferase or synthase to 4-aminobutyryl-CoA. Alternatively, succinate semialdehyde, formed from either the reduction of succinyl-CoA or the decarboxylation of alpha-ketoglutarate, can be transaminated to 4-aminobutyrate prior to activation by a CoA-transferase or synthase to form 4-aminobutyryl-CoA. It is noted that 4-aminobutyryl-CoA and several of the intermediates of the 4-aminobutyryl-CoA to 6-aminocaproyl-CoA pathway may spontaneously cyclize to their corresponding lactams. Thus, adding a protective functional group to the terminal amine group of 4-aminobutyryl-CoA and/or several of the amino-CoA intermediates can be used to minimize the formation of unwanted cyclic byproducts. In this case, the same general set of transformations depicted in FIG. 11 would apply, although two additional steps, for example, an acetylase and deacetylase, can be added to the pathway.

[0388]All transformations depicted in FIGS. 10-11 fall into the 12 general categories of transformations shown in Table 8. Below is described a number of biochemically characterized candidate genes in each category. Specifically listed are genes that can be applied to catalyze the appropriate transformations in FIGS. 10-11 when cloned and expressed.

[0389]1.1.1.a Oxidoreductases.

[0390]Four transformations depicted in FIGS. 10 and 11 require oxidoreductases that convert a ketone functionality to a hydroxyl group. Step B in both FIGS. 10 and 11 involves converting a 3-oxoacyl-CoA to a 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA. Step H in both FIGS. 1 and 2 involves converting a 3-oxoacid to a 3-hydroxyacid.

[0391]Exemplary enzymes that can convert 3-oxoacyl-CoA molecules such as 3-oxoadipyl-CoA and 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA into 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA molecules such as 3-hydroxyadipyl-CoA and 3-hydroxy-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA, respectively, include enzymes whose natural physiological roles are in fatty acid beta-oxidation or phenylacetate catabolism. For example, subunits of two fatty acid oxidation complexes in E. coli, encoded by fadB and fadJ, function as 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenases (Binstock et al., Methods Enzymol. 71:403-411 (1981)). Furthermore, the gene products encoded by phaC in Pseudomonas putida U (Olivera et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 95:6419-6424 (1998)) and paaC in Pseudomonas fluorescens ST (Di Gennaro et al., Arch. Microbiol. 188:117-125 (2007)) catalyze the reverse reaction of step B in FIG. 10, that is, the oxidation of 3-hydroxyadipyl-CoA to form 3-oxoadipyl-CoA, during the catabolism of phenylacetate or styrene. Note that the reactions catalyzed by such enzymes are reversible. In addition, given the proximity in E. coli of paaH to other genes in the phenylacetate degradation operon (Nogales et al., Microbiology 153:357-365 (2007)) and the fact that paaH mutants cannot grow on phenylacetate (Ismail et al., Eur. J. Biochem. 270:3047-3054 (2003)), it is expected that the E. coli paaH gene encodes a 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase.

[0392]Additional exemplary oxidoreductases capable of converting 3-oxoacyl-CoA molecules to their corresponding 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA molecules include 3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA dehydrogenases. The enzyme from Clostridium acetobutylicum, encoded by hbd, has been cloned and functionally expressed in E. coli (Youngleson et al., J. Bacteriol. 171:6800-6807 (1989)). Additional gene candidates include Hbd1 (C-terminal domain) and Hbd2 (N-terminal domain) in Clostridium kluyveri (Hillmer et al., FEBS Lett. 21:351-354 (1972)) and HSD17B10 in Bos taurus (Wakil et al., J. Biol. Chem. 207:631-638 (1954)). Yet other gene candidates demonstrated to reduce acetoacetyl-CoA to 3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA are phbB from Zoogloea ramigera (Ploux et al., Eur. J. Biochem. 174:177-182 (1988)) and phaB from Rhodobacter sphaeroides (Alber et al., Mol.Microbiol 61:297-309 (2006)). The former gene candidate is NADPH-dependent, its nucleotide sequence has been determined (Peoples et al., Mol. Microbiol. 3:349-357 (1989)) and the gene has been expressed in E. coli. Substrate specificity studies on the gene led to the conclusion that it could accept 3-oxopropionyl-CoA as a substrate besides acetoacetyl-CoA (Ploux et al., supra).

[0393]A number of similar enzymes have been found in other species of Clostridia and in Metallosphaera sedula (Berg et al., Science 318:1782-1786 (2007)).

[0394]Various alcohol dehydrogenases represent good candidates for converting 3-oxoadipate to 3-hydroxyadipate (step H, FIG. 10) or 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoate to 3-hydroxy-6-aminohexanoate (step H, FIG. 11). Two such enzymes capable of converting an oxoacid to a hydroxyacid are encoded by the malate dehydrogenase (mdh) and lactate dehydrogenase (ldhA) genes in E. coli. In addition, lactate dehydrogenase from Ralstonia eutropha has been shown to demonstrate high activities on substrates of various chain lengths such as lactate, 2-oxobutyrate, 2-oxopentanoate and 2-oxoglutarate (Steinbuchel et al., Eur. J. Biochem. 130:329-334 (1983)). Conversion of alpha-ketoadipate into alpha-hydroxyadipate can be catalyzed by 2-ketoadipate reductase, an enzyme reported to be found in rat and in human placenta (Suda et al., Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 176:610-620 (1976); Suda et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 77:586-591 (1977)). An additional candidate for these steps is the mitochondrial 3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (bdh) from the human heart which has been cloned and characterized (Marks et al., J. Biol. Chem. 267:15459-15463 (1992)). This enzyme is a dehydrogenase that operates on a 3-hydroxyacid. Another exemplary alcohol dehydrogenase converts acetone to isopropanol as was shown in C. beijerinckii (Ismaiel et al., J. Bacteriol. 175:5097-5105 (1993) and T. brockii (Lamed et al., Biochem. J. 195:183-190 (1981); Peretz et al., Biochemistry 28:6549-6555 (1989)).

[0395]1.2.1.b Oxidoreductase (Acyl-CoA to Aldehyde).

[0396]The transformations of adipyl-CoA to adipate semialdehyde (Step N, FIG. 10) and 6-aminocaproyl-CoA to 6-aminocaproate semialdehyde (Step U, FIG. 10; Step N, FIG. 11) require acyl-CoA dehydrogenases capable of reducing an acyl-CoA to its corresponding aldehyde. Exemplary genes that encode such enzymes include the Acinetobacter calcoaceticus acr1 encoding a fatty acyl-CoA reductase (Reiser et al., J. Bacteriology 179:2969-2975 (1997)), the Acinetobacter sp. M-1 fatty acyl-CoA reductase (Ishige et al., Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 68:1192-1195 (2002)), and a CoA- and NADP-dependent succinate semialdehyde dehydrogenase encoded by the sucD gene in Clostridium kluyveri (Sohling et al., J. Bacteriol. 178:871-880 (1996)). SucD of P. gingivalis is another succinate semialdehyde dehydrogenase (Takahashi et al., J. Bacteriol. 182:4704-4710 (2000)). The enzyme acylating acetaldehyde dehydrogenase in Pseudomonas sp, encoded by bphG, is yet another candidate as it has been demonstrated to oxidize and acylate acetaldehyde, propionaldehyde, butyraldehyde, isobutyraldehyde and formaldehyde (Powlowski et al., J. Bacteriol. 175:377-385 (1993)). In addition to reducing acetyl-CoA to ethanol, the enzyme encoded by adhE in Leuconostoc mesenteroides has been shown to oxidize the branched chain compound isobutyraldehyde to isobutyryl-CoA (Kazahaya et al., J. Gen. Appl. Microbiol. 18:43-55 (1972); Koo et al., Biotechnol Lett. 27:505-510 (2005)).

[0397]An additional enzyme type that converts an acyl-CoA to its corresponding aldehyde is malonyl-CoA reductase which transforms malonyl-CoA to malonic semialdehyde. Malonyl-CoA reductase is a key enzyme in autotrophic carbon fixation via the 3-hydroxypropionate cycle in thermoacidophilic archaeal bacteria (Berg et al., supra; Thauer R. K., Science 318:1732-1733 (2007)). The enzyme utilizes NADPH as a cofactor and has been characterized in Metallosphaera and Sulfolobus spp (Alber et al., J. Bacteriol. 188:8551-8559 (2006); Hugler et al., J. Bacteriol. 184:2404-2410 (2002)). The enzyme is encoded by Msed_—0709 in Metallosphaera sedula (Alber et al., supra; Berg et al., supra). A gene encoding a malonyl-CoA reductase from Sulfolobus tokodaii was cloned and heterologously expressed in E. coli (Alber et al., supra). This enzyme has also been shown to catalyze the conversion of methylmalonyl-CoA to its corresponding aldehyde (WO/2007/141208). Although the aldehyde dehydrogenase functionality of these enzymes is similar to the bifunctional dehydrogenase from Chloroflexus aurantiacus, there is little sequence similarity. Both malonyl-CoA reductase enzyme candidates have high sequence similarity to aspartate-semialdehyde dehydrogenase, an enzyme catalyzing the reduction and concurrent dephosphorylation of aspartyl-4-phosphate to aspartate semialdehyde. Additional gene candidates can be found by sequence homology to proteins in other organisms including Sulfolobus solfataricus and Sulfolobus acidocaldarius and have been listed below. Yet another candidate for CoA-acylating aldehyde dehydrogenase is the ald gene from Clostridium beijerinckii (Toth et al., Appl Environ Microbiol 65:4973-4980 (1999)). This enzyme has been reported to reduce acetyl-CoA and butyryl-CoA to their corresponding aldehydes. This gene is very similar to cutE that encodes acetaldehyde dehydrogenase of Salmonella typhimurium and E. coli (Toth et al., supra).

[0398]1.3.1.a Oxidoreductase Operating on CH—CH Donors.

[0399]Referring to FIG. 10, step D refers to the conversion of 5-carboxy-2-pentenoyl-CoA to adipyl-CoA by 5-carboxy-2-pentenoyl-CoA reductase. Referring to FIG. 11, step D refers to the conversion of 6-aminohex-2-enoyl-CoA to 6-aminocaproyl-CoA. Enoyl-CoA reductase enzymes are suitable enzymes for either transformation. One exemplary enoyl-CoA reductase is the gene product of bcd from C. acetobutylicum (Boynton et al., J Bacteriol. 178:3015-3024 (1996); Atsumi et al., Metab. Eng. 2008 10(6):305-311 (2008) (Epub Sep. 14, 2007), which naturally catalyzes the reduction of crotonyl-CoA to butyryl-CoA. Activity of this enzyme can be enhanced by expressing bcd in conjunction with expression of the C. acetobutylicum etfAB genes, which encode an electron transfer flavoprotein. An additional candidate for the enoyl-CoA reductase step is the mitochondrial enoyl-CoA reductase from E. gracilis (Hoffmeister et al., J. Biol. Chem. 280:4329-4338 (2005)). A construct derived from this sequence following the removal of its mitochondrial targeting leader sequence was cloned in E. coli resulting in an active enzyme (Hoffmeister et al., supra). This approach is well known to those skilled in the art of expressing eukaryotic genes, particularly those with leader sequences that may target the gene product to a specific intracellular compartment, in prokaryotic organisms. A close homolog of this gene, TDE0597, from the prokaryote Treponema denticola represents a third enoyl-CoA reductase which has been cloned and expressed in E. coli (Tucci et al., FEBS Letters 581:1561-1566 (2007)).

[0400]Step J of both FIGS. 10 and 11 requires a 2-enoate reductase enzyme. 2-Enoate reductases (EC 1.3.1.31) are known to catalyze the NAD(P)H-dependent reduction of a wide variety of α, β-unsaturated carboxylic acids and aldehydes (Rohdich et al., J. Biol. Chem. 276:5779-5787 (2001)). 2-Enoate reductase is encoded by enr in several species of Clostridia (Giesel et al., Arch Microbiol 135:51-57 (1983)) including C. tyrobutyricum, and C. thermoaceticum (now called Moorella thermoaceticum) (Rohdich et al., supra). In the published genome sequence of C. kluyveri, 9 coding sequences for enoate reductases have been reported, out of which one has been characterized (Seedorf et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 105:2128-2133 (2008)). The enr genes from both C. tyrobutyricum and C. thermoaceticum have been cloned and sequenced and show 59% identity to each other. The former gene is also found to have approximately 75% similarity to the characterized gene in C. kluyveri (Giesel et al., supra). It has been reported based on these sequence results that enr is very similar to the dienoyl CoA reductase in E. coli (fadH) (Rohdich et al., supra). The C. thermoaceticum enr gene has also been expressed in an enzymatically active form in E. coli (Rohdich et al., supra).

[0401]1.4.1.a Oxidoreductase Operating on Amino Acids.

[0402]FIG. 10 depicts two reductive aminations. Specifically, step P of FIG. 10 involves the conversion of adipate semialdehyde to 6-aminocaproate and step W of FIG. 10 entails the conversion of 6-aminocaproate semialdehyde to hexamethylenediamine. The latter transformation is also required in FIG. 11, Step P.

[0403]Most oxidoreductases operating on amino acids catalyze the oxidative deamination of alpha-amino acids with NAD+ or NADP+ as acceptor, though the reactions are typically reversible. Exemplary oxidoreductases operating on amino acids include glutamate dehydrogenase (deaminating), encoded by gdhA, leucine dehydrogenase (deaminating), encoded by ldh, and aspartate dehydrogenase (deaminating), encoded by nadX. The gdhA gene product from Escherichia coli (McPherson et al., Nucleic. Acids Res. 11:5257-5266 (1983); Korber et al., J. Mol. Biol. 234:1270-1273 (1993)), gdh from Thermotoga maritima (Kort et al., Extremophiles 1:52-60 (1997); Lebbink et al., J. Mol. Biol. 280:287-296 (1998); Lebbink et al., J. Mol. Biol. 289:357-369 (1999)), and gdhA1 from Halobacterium salinarum (Ingoldsby et al., Gene. 349:237-244 (2005)) catalyze the reversible interconversion of glutamate to 2-oxoglutarate and ammonia, while favoring NADP(H), NAD(H), or both, respectively. The ldh gene of Bacillus cereus encodes the LeuDH protein that has a wide of range of substrates including leucine, isoleucine, valine, and 2-aminobutanoate (Stoyan et al., J. Biotechnol 54:77-80 (1997); Ansorge et al., Biotechnol Bioeng. 68:557-562 (2000)). The nadX gene from Thermotoga maritime encoding for the aspartate dehydrogenase is involved in the biosynthesis of NAD (Yang et al., J. Biol. Chem. 278:8804-8808 (2003)).

[0404]The lysine 6-dehydrogenase (deaminating), encoded by the lysDH genes, catalyze the oxidative deamination of the 8-amino group of L-lysine to form 2-aminoadipate-6-semialdehyde, which in turn nonenzymatically cyclizes to form Δ¹-piperideine-6-carboxylate (Misono et al., J. Bacteriol. 150:398-401 (1982)). Exemplary enzymes can be found in Geobacillus stearothermophilus (Heydari et al., Appl Environ. Microbiol 70:937-942 (2004)), Agrobacterium tumefaciens (Hashimoto et al., J Biochem 106:76-80 (1989); Misono et al., supra), and Achromobacter denitrificans (Ruldeekulthamrong et al., BMB. Rep. 41:790-795 (2008)). Such enzymes are particularly good candidates for converting adipate semialdehyde to 6-aminocaproate given the structural similarity between adipate semialdehyde and 2-aminoadipate-6-semialdehyde.

[0405]2.3.1.b Acyl Transferase.

[0406]Referring to FIG. 10, step A involves 3-oxoadipyl-CoA thiolase, or equivalently, succinyl CoA:acetyl CoA acyl transferase (β-ketothiolase). The gene products encoded by pcaF in Pseudomonas strain B13 (Kaschabek et al., J. Bacteriol. 184:207-215 (2002)), phaD in Pseudomonas putida U (Olivera et al., supra), paaE in Pseudomonas fluorescens ST (Di Gennaro et al., supra), and paaJ from E. coli (Nogales et al., supra) catalyze the conversion of 3-oxoadipyl-CoA into succinyl-CoA and acetyl-CoA during the degradation of aromatic compounds such as phenylacetate or styrene. Since β-ketothiolase enzymes catalyze reversible transformations, these enzymes can be employed for the synthesis of 3-oxoadipyl-CoA. For example, the ketothiolase phaA from R. eutropha combines two molecules of acetyl-CoA to form acetoacetyl-CoA (Sato et al., J Biosci Bioeng 103:38-44 (2007)). Similarly, a β-keto thiolase (bktB) has been reported to catalyze the condensation of acetyl-CoA and propionyl-CoA to form β-ketovaleryl-CoA (Slater et al., J. Bacteriol. 180:1979-1987 (1998)) in R. eutropha. In addition to the likelihood of possessing 3-oxoadipyl-CoA thiolase activity, all such enzymes represent good candidates for condensing 4-aminobutyryl-CoA and acetyl-CoA to form 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA (step A, FIG. 11) either in their native forms or once they have been appropriately engineered.

[0407]2-Amino-4-oxopentanoate (AKP) thiolase or AKP thiolase (AKPT) enzymes present additional candidates for performing step A in FIGS. 10 and 11. AKPT is a pyridoxal phosphate-dependent enzyme participating in ornithine degradation in Clostridium sticklandii (Jeng et al., Biochemistry 13:2898-2903 (1974); Kenklies et al., Microbiology 145:819-826 (1999)). A gene cluster encoding the alpha and beta subunits of AKPT (or-2 (ortA) and or-3 (ortB)) was recently identified and the biochemical properties of the enzyme were characterized (Fonknechten et al., J. Bacteriol. In Press (2009)). The enzyme is capable of operating in both directions and naturally reacts with the D-isomer of alanine AKPT from Clostridium sticklandii has been characterized but its protein sequence has not yet been published. Enzymes with high sequence homology are found in Clostridium difficile, Alkaliphilus metalliredigenes QYF, Thermoanaerobacter sp. X514, and Thermoanaerobacter tengcongensis MB4 (Fonknechten et al., supra).

[0408]2.6.1.a Aminotransferase.

[0409]Step O of FIGS. 10 and 11 and Step V of FIG. 10 require transamination of a 6-aldehyde to an amine. These transformations can be catalyzed by gamma-aminobutyrate transaminase (GABA transaminase). One E. coli GABA transaminase is encoded by gabT and transfers an amino group from glutamate to the terminal aldehyde of succinyl semialdehyde (Bartsch et al., J. Bacteriol. 172:7035-7042 (1990)). The gene product of puuE catalyzes another 4-aminobutyrate transaminase in E. coli (Kurihara et al., J. Biol. Chem. 280:4602-4608 (2005)). GABA transaminases in Mus musculus, Pseudomonas fluorescens, and Sus scrofa have been shown to react with 6-aminocaproic acid (Cooper, Methods Enzymol. 113:80-82 (1985); Scott et al., J. Biol. Chem. 234:932-936 (1959)).

[0410]Additional enzyme candidates include putrescine aminotransferases or other diamine aminotransferases. Such enzymes are particularly well suited for carrying out the conversion of 6-aminocaproate semialdehyde to hexamethylenediamine The E. coli putrescine aminotransferase is encoded by the ygjG gene and the purified enzyme also was able to transaminate cadaverine and spermidine (Samsonova et al., BMC Microbiol 3:2 (2003)). In addition, activity of this enzyme on 1,7-diaminoheptane and with amino acceptors other than 2-oxoglutarate (e.g., pyruvate, 2-oxobutanoate) has been reported (Samsonova et al., supra; Kim, K. H., J Biol Chem 239:783-786 (1964)). A putrescine aminotransferase with higher activity with pyruvate as the amino acceptor than alpha-ketoglutarate is the spuC gene of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Lu et al., J Bacteriol 184:3765-3773 (2002)).

[0411]Yet additional candidate enzymes include beta-alanine/alpha-ketoglutarate aminotransferases which produce malonate semialdehyde from beta-alanine (WO08027742). The gene product of SkPYD4 in Saccharomyces kluyveri was also shown to preferentially use beta-alanine as the amino group donor (Andersen et al., FEBS. J. 274:1804-1817 (2007)). SkUGA1 encodes a homologue of Saccharomyces cerevisiae GABA aminotransferase, UGA1 (Ramos et al., Eur. J. Biochem., 149:401-404 (1985)), whereas SkPYD4 encodes an enzyme involved in both β-alanine and GABA transamination (Andersen et al., supra). 3-Amino-2-methylpropionate transaminase catalyzes the transformation from methylmalonate semialdehyde to 3-amino-2-methylpropionate. This enzyme has been characterized in Rattus norvegicus and Sus scrofa and is encoded by Abat (Tamaki et al, Methods Enzymol, 324:376-389 (2000)).

[0412]2.8.3.a Coenzyme-A Transferase.

[0413]CoA transferases catalyze reversible reactions that involve the transfer of a CoA moiety from one molecule to another. For example, step E of FIG. 10 is catalyzed by a 3-oxoadipyl-CoA transferase. In this step, 3-oxoadipate is formed by the transfer of the CoA group from 3-oxoadipyl-CoA to succinate, acetate, or another CoA acceptor. Step E of FIG. 11 entails the transfer of a CoA moiety from another 3-oxoacyl-CoA, 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA. One candidate enzyme for these steps is the two-unit enzyme encoded by pcaI and pcaJ in Pseudomonas, which has been shown to have 3-oxoadipyl-CoA/succinate transferase activity (Kaschabek et al., supra). Similar enzymes based on homology exist in Acinetobacter sp. ADP1 (Kowalchuk et al., Gene 146:23-30 (1994)) and Streptomyces coelicolor. Additional exemplary succinyl-CoA:3:oxoacid-CoA transferases are present in Helicobacter pylori (Corthesy-Theulaz et al., J. Biol. Chem. 272:25659-25667 (1997)) and Bacillus subtilis (Stols et al., Protein. Expr. Purif. 53:396-403 (2007)).

[0414]A 3-oxoacyl-CoA transferase that can utilize acetate as the CoA acceptor is acetoacetyl-CoA transferase, encoded by the E. coli atoA (alpha subunit) and atoD (beta subunit) genes (Vanderwinkel et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res Commun. 33:902-908 (1968); Korolev et al., Acta Crystallogr. D Biol Crystallogr. 58:2116-2121 (2002)). This enzyme has also been shown to transfer the CoA moiety to acetate from a variety of branched and linear acyl-CoA substrates, including isobutyrate (Matthies et al., Appl Environ Microbiol 58:1435-1439 (1992)), valerate (Vanderwinkel et al., supra) and butanoate (Vanderwinkel et al., supra). Similar enzymes exist in Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 13032 (Duncan et al., Appl Environ Microbiol 68:5186-5190 (2002)), Clostridium acetobutylicum (Cary et al., Appl Environ Microbiol 56:1576-1583 (1990)), and Clostridium saccharoperbutylacetonicum (Kosaka et al., Biosci. Biotechnol Biochem. 71:58-68 (2007)).

[0415]The above enzymes may also exhibit the desired activities on adipyl-CoA and adipate (FIG. 10, step K) or 6-aminocaproate and 6-aminocaproyl-CoA (FIG. 10, step Q; FIG. 2, step K). Nevertheless, additional exemplary transferase candidates are catalyzed by the gene products of cat1, cat2, and cat3 of Clostridium kluyveri which have been shown to exhibit succinyl-CoA, 4-hydroxybutyryl-CoA, and butyryl-CoA transferase activity, respectively (Seedorf et al., supra; Sohling et al., Eur. J Biochem. 212:121-127 (1993); Sohling et al., J. Bacteriol. 178:871-880 (1996)).

[0416]The glutaconate-CoA-transferase (EC 2.8.3.12) enzyme from anaerobic bacterium Acidaminococcus fermentans reacts with diacid glutaconyl-CoA and 3-butenoyl-CoA (Mack et al., FEBS Lett. 405:209-212 (1997)). The genes encoding this enzyme are gctA and gctB. This enzyme has reduced but detectable activity with other CoA derivatives including glutaryl-CoA, 2-hydroxyglutaryl-CoA, adipyl-CoA and acrylyl-CoA (Buckel et al., Eur. J. Biochem. 118:315-321 (1981)). The enzyme has been cloned and expressed in E. coli (Mack et al., Eur. J. Biochem. 226:41-51 (1994)).

[0417]3.1.2.a Thiolester Hydrolase (CoA Specific).

[0418]Several eukaryotic acetyl-CoA hydrolases have broad substrate specificity and thus represent suitable candidate enzymes for hydrolyzing 3-oxoadipyl-CoA, adipyl-CoA, 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA, or 6-aminocaproyl-CoA (Steps G and M of FIGS. 10 and 11). For example, the enzyme from Rattus norvegicus brain (Robinson et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 71:959-965 (1976)) can react with butyryl-CoA, hexanoyl-CoA and malonyl-CoA.

[0419]Additional hydrolase enzymes include 3-hydroxyisobutyryl-CoA hydrolase which has been described to efficiently catalyze the conversion of 3-hydroxyisobutyryl-CoA to 3-hydroxyisobutyrate during valine degradation (Shimomura et al., J Biol. Chem. 269:14248-14253 (1994)). Genes encoding this enzyme include hibch of Rattus norvegicus (Shimomura et al., supra; Shimomura et al., Methods Enzymol. 324:229-240 (2000)) and Homo sapiens (Shimomura et al., supra). Candidate genes by sequence homology include hibch of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and BC 2292 of Bacillus cereus.

[0420]Yet another candidate hydrolase is the human dicarboxylic acid thioesterase, acot8, which exhibits activity on glutaryl-CoA, adipyl-CoA, suberyl-CoA, sebacyl-CoA, and dodecanedioyl-CoA (Westin et al., J. Biol. Chem. 280:38125-38132 (2005)) and the closest E. coli homolog, tesB, which can also hydrolyze a broad range of CoA thiolesters (Naggert et al., J Biol Chem 266:11044-11050 (1991)). A similar enzyme has also been characterized in the rat liver (Deana R., Biochem Int 26:767-773 (1992)).

[0421]Other potential E. coli thiolester hydrolases include the gene products of tesA (Bonner et al., J Biol Chem 247:3123-3133 (1972)), ybgC (Kuznetsova et al., FEMS Microbiol Rev 29:263-279 (2005); Zhuang et al., FEBS Lett 516:161-163 (2002)), paaI (Song et al., J Biol Chem 281:11028-11038 (2006)), and ybdB (Leduc et al., J Bacteriol 189:7112-7126 (2007)).

[0422]6.3.1.a/6.3.2.a Amide Synthases/Peptide Synthases.

[0423]The direct conversion of 6-aminocaproate to caprolactam (Step S, FIG. 10; Step R, FIG. 11) requires the formation of an intramolecular peptide bond. Ribosomes, which assemble amino acids into proteins during translation, are nature's most abundant peptide bond-forming catalysts. Nonribosomal peptide synthetases are peptide bond forming catalysts that do not involve messenger mRNA (Schwarzer et al., Nat. Prod. Rep. 20:275-287 (2003)). Additional enzymes capable of forming peptide bonds include acyl-CoA synthetase from Pseudomonas chlororaphis (Abe et al., J Biol Chem 283:11312-11321 (2008)), gamma-Glutamylputrescine synthetase from E. coli (Kurihara et al., J Biol Chem 283:19981-19990 (2008)), and beta-lactam synthetase from Streptomyces clavuligerus (Bachmann et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 95:9082-9086 (1998); Bachmann et al., Biochemistry 39:11187-11193 (2000);Miller et al., Nat. Struct. Biol 8:684-689 (2001); Miller et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 99:14752-14757 (2002); Tahlan et al., Antimicrob. Agents. Chemother. 48:930-939 (2004)).

[0424]4.2.1.a Hydrolyase.

[0425]Most dehydratases catalyze the α, β-elimination of water. This involves activation of the a-hydrogen by an electron-withdrawing carbonyl, carboxylate, or CoA-thiol ester group and removal of the hydroxyl group from the β-position. Enzymes exhibiting activity on substrates with an electron-withdrawing carboxylate group are excellent candidates for dehydrating 3-hydroxyadipate (FIG. 10, Step I) or 3-hydroxy-6-aminohexanoate (FIG. 11, Step I).

[0426]For example, fumarase enzymes naturally catalyze the reversible dehydration of malate to fumarate. E. coli has three fumarases: FumA, FumB, and FumC that are regulated by growth conditions. FumB is oxygen sensitive and only active under anaerobic conditions. FumA is active under microanaerobic conditions, and FumC is the only active enzyme in aerobic growth (Tseng et al., J Bacteriol 183:461-467 (2001);Woods et al., Biochim Biophys Acta 954:14-26 (1988);Guest et al., J Gen Microbiol 131:2971-2984 (1985)). Additional enzyme candidates are found in Campylobacter jejuni (Smith et al., Int. J Biochem.Cell Biol 31:961-975 (1999)), Thermus thermophilus (Mizobata et al., Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 355:49-55 (1998)) and Rattus norvegicus (Kobayashi et al., J Biochem. 89:1923-1931 (1981)). Similar enzymes with high sequence homology include fum1 from Arabidopsis thaliana and fumC from Corynebacterium glutamicum. The MmcBC fumarase from Pelotomaculum thermopropionicum is another class of fumarase with two subunits (Shimoyama et al., FEMS Microbiol Lett 270:207-213 (2007)).

[0427]Two additional dehydratase candidates are 2-(hydroxymethyl)glutarate dehydratase and dimethylmaleate hydratase, enzymes studied for their role in nicontinate catabolism in Eubacterium barkeri (formerly Clostridium barkeri) (Alhapel et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 103:12341-6 (2006)). 2-(Hydroxymethyl)glutarate dehydratase is a [4Fe-4S]-containing enzyme that dehydrates 2-(hydroxymethyl)glutarate to 2-methylene-glutarate. This enzyme is encoded by hmd in Eubacterium barkeri (Alhapel et al., supra). Similar enzymes with high sequence homology are found in Bacteroides capillosus, Anaerotruncus colihominis, and Natranaerobius thermophilius. These enzymes are homologous to the alpha and beta subunits of [4Fe-4S]-containing bacterial serine dehydratases (e.g., E. coli enzymes encoded by tdcG, sdhB, and sdaA).

[0428]Dimethylmaleate hydratase (EC 4.2.1.85) is a reversible Fe²⁺-dependent and oxygen-sensitive enzyme in the aconitase family that hydrates dimethylmaeate to form (2R,3S)-2,3-dimethylmalate. This enzyme is encoded by dmdAB in Eubacterium barkeri (Alhapel et al., supra; Kollmann-Koch et al., Hoppe Seylers. Z. Physiol Chem. 365:847-857 (1984)).

[0429]An additional enzyme candidate is 2-methylmalate dehydratase, also called citramalate hydrolyase, a reversible hydrolyase that catalyzes the alpha, beta elimination of water from citramalate to form mesaconate. This enzyme has been purified and characterized in Clostridium tetanomorphum (Wang et al., J Biol. Chem. 244:2516-2526 (1969)). The activity of this enzyme has also been detected in several bacteria in the genera Citrobacter and Morganella in the context of the glutamate degradation VI pathway (Kato et al., Arch. Microbiol 168:457-463 (1997)). Genes encoding this enzyme have not been identified in any organism to date.

[0430]Enzymes exhibiting activity on substrates with an electron-withdrawing CoA-thiol ester group adjacent to the α-hydrogen are excellent candidates for dehydrating 3-hydroxyadipyl-CoA (FIG. 10, Step C) or 3-hydroxy-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA (FIG. 11, Step C). The enoyl-CoA hydratases, phaA and phaB, of P. putida are believed to carry out the hydroxylation of double bonds during phenylacetate catabolism (Olivera et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 95:6419-6424 (1998)). The paaA and paaB from P. fluorescens catalyze analogous transformations (Olivera et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 95:6419-6424 (1998)). Lastly, a number of Escherichia coli genes have been shown to demonstrate enoyl-CoA hydratase functionality including maoC (Park et al., J Bacteriol. 185:5391-5397 (2003)), paaF (Ismail et al., supra; Park et al., Appl. Biochem. Biotechnol 113-116:335-346 (2004); Park et al., Biotechnol Bioeng 86:681-686 (2004)) and paaG (Ismail et al., supra; Park et al., Appl. Biochem. Biotechnol 113-116:335-346 (2004); Park et al., Biotechnol Bioeng 86:681-686 (2004)). Crotonase enzymes are additional candidates for dehydrating the required 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA molecules depicted in FIGS. 10 and 11. These enzymes are required for n-butanol formation in some organisms, particularly Clostridial species, and also comprise one step of the 3-hydroxypropionate/4-hydroxybutyrate cycle in thermoacidophilic Archaea of the genera Sulfolobus, Acidianus, and Metallosphaera. Exemplary genes encoding crotonase enzymes can be found in C. acetobutylicum (Boynton et al., supra), C. kluyveri (Hillmer et al., FEBS Lett. 21:351-354 (1972)), and Metallosphaera sedula (Berg et al., supra) though the sequence of the latter gene is not known. Enoyl-CoA hydratases, which are involved in fatty acid beta-oxidation and/or the metabolism of various amino acids, can also catalyze the hydration of crotonyl-CoA to form 3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA (Roberts et al., Arch. Microbiol 117:99-108 (1978); Agnihotri et al., Bioorg. Med. Chem. 11:9-20 (2003); Conrad et al., J. Bacteriol. 118:103-111 (1974)).

[0431]6.2.1.a Acid-Thiol Ligase.

[0432]Steps F, L, and R of FIG. 10 and Steps F and L of FIG. 11 require acid-thiol ligase or synthetase functionality (the terms ligase, synthetase, and synthase are used herein interchangeably and refer to the same enzyme class). Exemplary genes encoding enzymes likely to carry out these transformations include the sucCD genes of E. coli which naturally form a succinyl-CoA synthetase complex. This enzyme complex naturally catalyzes the formation of succinyl-CoA from succinate with the concaminant consumption of one ATP, a reaction which is reversible in vivo (Buck et al., Biochem. 24:6245-6252 (1985)). Given the structural similarity between succinate and adipate, that is, both are straight chain dicarboxylic acids, it is reasonable to expect some activity of the sucCD enzyme on adipyl-CoA.

[0433]Additional exemplary CoA-ligases include the rat dicarboxylate-CoA ligase for which the sequence is yet uncharacterized (Vamecq et al., Biochemical Journal 230:683-693 (1985)), either of the two characterized phenylacetate-CoA ligases from P. chrysogenum (Lamas-Maceiras et al., Biochem. J. 395:147-155 (2005); Wang et al., Biochem Biophy Res Commun 360(2):453-458 (2007)), the phenylacetate-CoA ligase from Pseudomonas putida (Martinez-Blanco et al., J. Biol. Chem. 265:7084-7090 (1990)), and the 6-carboxyhexanoate-CoA ligase from Bacilis subtilis (Bower et al., J. Bacteriol. 178(14):4122-4130 (1996)). Additional candidate enzymes are acetoacetyl-CoA synthetases from Mus musculus (Hasegawa et al., Biochim Biophys Acta 1779:414-419 (2008)) and Homo sapiens (Ohgami et al., Biochem Pharmacol 65:989-994 (2003)) which naturally catalyze the ATP-dependant conversion of acetoacetate into acetoacetyl-CoA.

[0434]ADP-forming acetyl-CoA synthetase (ACD, EC 6.2.1.13) is another candidate enzyme that couples the conversion of acyl-CoA esters to their corresponding acids with the concurrent synthesis of ATP. Several enzymes with broad substrate specificities have been described in the literature. ACD I from Archaeoglobus fulgidus, encoded by AF1211, was shown to operate on a variety of linear and branched-chain substrates including acetyl-CoA, propionyl-CoA, butyryl-CoA, acetate, propionate, butyrate, isobutyryate, isovalerate, succinate, fumarate, phenylacetate, indoleacetate (Musfeldt et al., J Bacteriol 184:636-644 (2002)). The enzyme from Haloarcula marismortui (annotated as a succinyl-CoA synthetase) accepts propionate, butyrate, and branched-chain acids (isovalerate and isobutyrate) as substrates, and was shown to operate in the forward and reverse directions (Brasen et al., Arch Microbiol 182:277-287 (2004)). The ACD encoded by PAE3250 from hyperthermophilic crenarchaeon Pyrobaculum aerophilum showed the broadest substrate range of all characterized ACDs, reacting with acetyl-CoA, isobutyryl-CoA (preferred substrate) and phenylacetyl-CoA (Brasen et al., supra). The enzymes from A. fulgidus, H. marismortui and P. aerophilum have all been cloned, functionally expressed, and characterized in E. coli (Musfeldt et al., supra; Brasen et al., supra).

[0435]Yet another option is to employ a set of enzymes with net ligase or synthetase activity. For example, phosphotransadipylase and adipate kinase enzymes are catalyzed by the gene products of buk1, buk2, and ptb from C. acetobutylicum (Walter et al., Gene 134:107-111 (1993); Huang et al., J. Mol. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 2:33-38 (2000)). The ptb gene encodes an enzyme that can convert butyryl-CoA into butyryl-phosphate, which is then converted to butyrate via either of the buk gene products with the concomitant generation of ATP.

[0436]No enzyme required—Spontaneous cyclization. 6-Aminocaproyl-CoA will cyclize spontaneously to caprolactam, thus eliminating the need for a dedicated enzyme for this step. A similar spontaneous cyclization is observed with 4-aminobutyryl-CoA which forms pyrrolidinone (Ohsugi et al., J Biol Chem 256:7642-7651 (1981)).

Example XIII

Preparation of a 6-Aminocaproic Acid Producing Microbial Organism Having a Pathway for Converting Acetyl-CoA and 4-Aminobutyryl-CoA to 6-Aminocaproic Acid

[0437]This example describes the generation of a microbial organism capable of producing 6-aminocaproic acid from acetyl-CoA and 4-aminobutyryl-CoA.

[0438]Escherichia coli is used as a target organism to engineer the 6-aminocaproic acid pathway shown in FIG. 11 that starts from acetyl-CoA and 4-aminobutyryl-CoA. E. coli provides a good host for generating a non-naturally occurring microorganism capable of producing 6-aminocaproic acid. E. coli is amenable to genetic manipulation and is known to be capable of producing various products, like ethanol, acetic acid, formic acid, lactic acid, and succinic acid, effectively under anaerobic or microaerobic conditions.

[0439]To generate an E. coli strain engineered to produce 6-aminocaproic acid, nucleic acids encoding the requisite enzymes are expressed in E. coli using well known molecular biology techniques (see, for example, Sambrook, supra, 2001; Ausubel, supra, 1999). In particular, the paaJ (NP_—415915.1), paaH (NP_—415913.1), and maoC (NP_—415905.1) genes encoding the 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA thiolase, 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA reductase, 3-hydroxy-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA dehydratase activities, respectively, are cloned into the pZE13 vector (Expressys, Ruelzheim, Germany) under the PA1/lacO promoter. In addition, the bcd (NP_—349317.1), etfAB (NP_—349315.1 and NP_—349316.1), and acot8 (CAA15502) genes encoding 6-aminohex-2-enoyl-CoA reductase and 6-aminocaproyl-CoA hydrolase activities are cloned into the pZA33 vector (Expressys, Ruelzheim, Germany) under the PA1/lacO promoter. Lastly, the sucD (NP_—904963.1), gabT (NP_—417148.1), and cat2 (P38942.2) genes encoding succinyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming), GABA transaminase, and 4-aminobutyryl-CoA/acyl-CoA transferase activities are cloned into a third compatible plasmid, pZS23, under the PA1/lacO promoter, to increase the availability of 4-aminobutyryl-CoA. pZS23 is obtained by replacing the ampicillin resistance module of the pZS13 vector (Expressys, Ruelzheim, Germany) with a kanamycin resistance module by well-known molecular biology techniques. The three sets of plasmids are transformed into E. coli strain MG1655 to express the proteins and enzymes required for 6-aminocaproic acid synthesis.

[0440]The resulting genetically engineered organism is cultured in glucose-containing medium following procedures well known in the art (see, for example, Sambrook et al., supra, 2001). The expression of the 6-aminocaproic acid synthesis genes is corroborated using methods well known in the art for determining polypeptide expression or enzymatic activity, including for example, Northern blots, PCR amplification of mRNA, immunoblotting, and the like. Enzymatic activities of the expressed enzymes are confirmed using assays specific for the individual activities. The ability of the engineered E. coli strain to produce 6-aminocaproic acid is confirmed using HPLC, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS) and/or liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LCMS).

[0441]Microbial strains engineered to have a functional 6-aminocaproic acid synthesis pathway are further augmented by optimization for efficient utilization of the pathway. Briefly, the engineered strain is assessed to determine whether any of the exogenous genes are expressed at a rate limiting level. Expression is increased for any enzymes expressed at low levels that can limit the flux through the pathway by, for example, introduction of additional gene copy numbers.

[0442]To generate better producers, metabolic modeling is utilized to optimize growth conditions. Modeling is also used to design gene knockouts that additionally optimize utilization of the pathway (see, for example, U.S. patent publications US 2002/0012939, US 2003/0224363, US 2004/0029149, US 2004/0072723, US 2003/0059792, US 2002/0168654 and US 2004/0009466, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,127,379). Modeling analysis allows reliable predictions of the effects on cell growth of shifting the metabolism towards more efficient production of 6-aminocaproic acid. One modeling method is the bilevel optimization approach, OptKnock (Burgard et al., Biotechnol. Bioengineer. 84:647-657 (2003)), which is applied to select gene knockouts that collectively result in better production of 6-aminocaproic acid. Adaptive evolution also can be used to generate better producers of, for example, the acetyl-CoA and succinyl-CoA intermediates of the 6-aminocaproic acid product. Adaptive evolution is performed to improve both growth and production characteristics (Fong and Palsson, Nat. Genet. 36:1056-1058 (2004); Alper et al., Science 314:1565-1568 (2006)). Based on the results, subsequent rounds of modeling, genetic engineering and adaptive evolution can be applied to the 6-aminocaproic acid producer to further increase production.

[0443]For large-scale production of 6-aminocaproic acid, the above organism is cultured in a fermenter using a medium known in the art to support growth of the organism under anaerobic conditions. Fermentations are performed in either a batch, fed-batch or continuous manner. Anaerobic conditions are maintained by first sparging the medium with nitrogen and then sealing the culture vessel, for example, flasks can be sealed with a septum and crimp-cap. Microaerobic conditions also can be utilized by providing a small hole in the septum for limited aeration. The pH of the medium is maintained at a pH of around 7 by addition of an acid, such as H₂SO₄. The growth rate is determined by measuring optical density using a spectrophotometer (600 nm) and the glucose uptake rate by monitoring carbon source depletion over time. Byproducts such as undesirable alcohols, organic acids, and residual glucose can be quantified by HPLC (Shimadzu, Columbia Md.), for example, using an Aminex® series of HPLC columns (for example, HPX-87 series) (BioRad, Hercules Calif.), using a refractive index detector for glucose and alcohols, and a UV detector for organic acids (Lin et al., Biotechnol. Bioeng. 775-779 (2005)).

Example XIV

Preparation of a 6-Aminocaproic Acid Producing Microbial Organism Having a Pathway for Converting Acetyl-CoA and 4-Aminobutyryl-CoA to 6-Aminocaproic Acid

[0444]This example describes the generation of a microbial organism capable of producing 6-aminocaproic acid from acetyl-CoA and 4-aminobutyryl-CoA.

[0445]Escherichia coli is used as a target organism to engineer the 6-aminocaproic acid pathway shown in FIG. 11 that starts from acetyl-CoA and 4-aminobutyryl-CoA. E. coli provides a good host for generating a non-naturally occurring microorganism capable of producing 6-aminocaproic acid. E. coli is amenable to genetic manipulation and is known to be capable of producing various products, like ethanol, acetic acid, formic acid, lactic acid, and succinic acid, effectively under anaerobic or microaerobic conditions.

[0446]To generate an E. coli strain engineered to produce 6-aminocaproic acid, nucleic acids encoding the requisite enzymes are expressed in E. coli using well known molecular biology techniques (see, for example, Sambrook, supra, 2001; Ausubel, supra, 1999). In particular, the paaJ (NP_—415915.1), pcaIJ (AAN69545.1 and NP_—746082.1), and bdh (AAA58352.1) genes encoding the 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA thiolase, 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA/acyl-CoA transferase, 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoate reductase activities, respectively, are cloned into the pZE13 vector (Expressys, Ruelzheim, Germany) under the PA1/lacO promoter. In addition, the enr (CAA76083.1) and hmd (ABC88407.1) genes encoding 6-aminohex-2-enoate reductase and 3-hydroxy-6-aminohexanoate dehydratase activities are cloned into the pZA33 vector (Expressys, Ruelzheim, Germany) under the PA1/lacO promoter. Lastly, the sucD (NP_—904963.1), gabT (NP_—417148.1), and cat2 (P38942.2) genes encoding succinyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming), GABA transaminase, and 4-aminobutyryl-CoA/acyl-CoA transferase activities are cloned into a third compatible plasmid, pZS23, under the PA1/lacO promoter, to increase the availability of 4-aminobutyryl-CoA. pZS23 is obtained by replacing the ampicillin resistance module of the pZS13 vector (Expressys, Ruelzheim, Germany) with a kanamycin resistance module by well-known molecular biology techniques. The three sets of plasmids are transformed into E. coli strain MG1655 to express the proteins and enzymes required for 6-aminocaproic acid synthesis.

[0447]The resulting genetically engineered organism is cultured in glucose-containing medium following procedures well known in the art (see, for example, Sambrook et al., supra, 2001). The expression of the 6-aminocaproic acid synthesis genes is corroborated using methods well known in the art for determining polypeptide expression or enzymatic activity, including for example, Northern blots, PCR amplification of mRNA, immunoblotting, and the like. Enzymatic activities of the expressed enzymes are confirmed using assays specific for the individual activities. The ability of the engineered E. coli strain to produce 6-aminocaproic acid is confirmed using HPLC, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS) and/or liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LCMS).

[0448]Microbial strains engineered to have a functional 6-aminocaproic acid synthesis pathway are further augmented by optimization for efficient utilization of the pathway. Briefly, the engineered strain is assessed to determine whether any of the exogenous genes are expressed at a rate limiting level. Expression is increased for any enzymes expressed at low levels that can limit the flux through the pathway by, for example, introduction of additional gene copy numbers.

[0449]To generate better producers, metabolic modeling is utilized to optimize growth conditions. Modeling is also used to design gene knockouts that additionally optimize utilization of the pathway (see, for example, U.S. patent publications US 2002/0012939, US 2003/0224363, US 2004/0029149, US 2004/0072723, US 2003/0059792, US 2002/0168654 and US 2004/0009466, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,127,379). Modeling analysis allows reliable predictions of the effects on cell growth of shifting the metabolism towards more efficient production of 6-aminocaproic acid. One modeling method is the bilevel optimization approach, OptKnock (Burgard et al., Biotechnol. Bioengineer. 84:647-657 (2003)), which is applied to select gene knockouts that collectively result in better production of 6-aminocaproic acid. Adaptive evolution also can be used to generate better producers of, for example, the acetyl-CoA and succinyl-CoA intermediates of the 6-aminocaproic acid product. Adaptive evolution is performed to improve both growth and production characteristics (Fong and Palsson, Nat. Genet. 36:1056-1058 (2004); Alper et al., Science 314:1565-1568 (2006)). Based on the results, subsequent rounds of modeling, genetic engineering and adaptive evolution can be applied to the 6-aminocaproic acid producer to further increase production.

[0450]For large-scale production of 6-aminocaproic acid, the above organism is cultured in a fermenter using a medium known in the art to support growth of the organism under anaerobic conditions. Fermentations are performed in either a batch, fed-batch or continuous manner. Anaerobic conditions are maintained by first sparging the medium with nitrogen and then sealing the culture vessel, for example, flasks can be sealed with a septum and crimp-cap. Microaerobic conditions also can be utilized by providing a small hole in the septum for limited aeration. The pH of the medium is maintained at a pH of around 7 by addition of an acid, such as H₂SO₄. The growth rate is determined by measuring optical density using a spectrophotometer (600 nm) and the glucose uptake rate by monitoring carbon source depletion over time. Byproducts such as undesirable alcohols, organic acids, and residual glucose can be quantified by HPLC (Shimadzu, Columbia Md.), for example, using an Aminex® series of HPLC columns (for example, HPX-87 series) (BioRad, Hercules Calif.), using a refractive index detector for glucose and alcohols, and a UV detector for organic acids (Lin et al., Biotechnol. Bioeng. 775-779 (2005)).

Example XV

Preparation of a Caprolactam Producing Microbial Organism Having a Pathway for Converting Acetyl-CoA and Succinyl-CoA to 6-Aminocaproic Acid

[0451]This example describes the generation of a microbial organism capable of producing caprolactam from acetyl-CoA and succinyl-CoA.

[0452]Escherichia coli is used as a target organism to engineer the caprolactam pathway shown in FIG. 10 that starts from acetyl-CoA and succinyl-CoA. E. coli provides a good host for generating a non-naturally occurring microorganism capable of producing caprolactam. E. coli is amenable to genetic manipulation and is known to be capable of producing various products, like ethanol, acetic acid, formic acid, lactic acid, and succinic acid, effectively under anaerobic or microaerobic conditions.

[0453]To generate an E. coli strain engineered to produce caprolactam, nucleic acids encoding the requisite enzymes are expressed in E. coli using well known molecular biology techniques (see, for example, Sambrook, supra, 2001; Ausubel, supra, 1999). In particular, the paaJ (NP_—415915.1), paaH (NP_—415913.1), and maoC (NP_—415905.1) genes encoding the 3-oxoadipyl-CoA thiolase, 3-oxoadipyl-CoA reductase, and 3-hydroxyadipyl-CoA dehydratase activities, respectively, are cloned into the pZE13 vector (Expressys, Ruelzheim, Germany) under the PA1/lacO promoter. In addition, the bcd (NP_—349317.1) and etfAB (NP_—349315.1 and NP_—349316.1) genes encoding 5-carboxy-2-pentenoyl-CoA reductase activity are cloned into the pZA33 vector (Expressys, Ruelzheim, Germany) under the PA1/lacO promoter. Lastly, the acr1 (YP_—047869.1), gabT (NP_—417148.1), and bioW (NP_—390902.2) genes encoding adipyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming), 6-aminocaproic acid transaminase, and 6-aminocaproyl-CoA synthase activities are cloned into a third compatible plasmid, pZS23, under the PA1/lacO promoter. pZS23 is obtained by replacing the ampicillin resistance module of the pZS13 vector (Expressys, Ruelzheim, Germany) with a kanamycin resistance module by well-known molecular biology techniques. The three sets of plasmids are transformed into E. coli strain MG1655 to express the proteins and enzymes required for caprolactam synthesis.

[0454]The resulting genetically engineered organism is cultured in glucose-containing medium following procedures well known in the art (see, for example, Sambrook et al., supra, 2001). The expression of the caprolactam synthesis genes is corroborated using methods well known in the art for determining polypeptide expression or enzymatic activity, including for example, Northern blots, PCR amplification of mRNA, immunoblotting, and the like. Enzymatic activities of the expressed enzymes are confirmed using assays specific for the individual activities. The ability of the engineered E. coli strain to produce caprolactam is confirmed using HPLC, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS) and/or liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LCMS).

[0455]Microbial strains engineered to have a functional caprolactam synthesis pathway are further augmented by optimization for efficient utilization of the pathway. Briefly, the engineered strain is assessed to determine whether any of the exogenous genes are expressed at a rate limiting level. Expression is increased for any enzymes expressed at low levels that can limit the flux through the pathway by, for example, introduction of additional gene copy numbers.

[0456]To generate better producers, metabolic modeling is utilized to optimize growth conditions. Modeling is also used to design gene knockouts that additionally optimize utilization of the pathway (see, for example, U.S. patent publications US 2002/0012939, US 2003/0224363, US 2004/0029149, US 2004/0072723, US 2003/0059792, US 2002/0168654 and US 2004/0009466, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,127,379). Modeling analysis allows reliable predictions of the effects on cell growth of shifting the metabolism towards more efficient production of caprolactam. One modeling method is the bilevel optimization approach, OptKnock (Burgard et al., Biotechnol. Bioengineer. 84:647-657 (2003)), which is applied to select gene knockouts that collectively result in better production of caprolactam. Adaptive evolution also can be used to generate better producers of, for example, the acetyl-CoA and succinyl-CoA intermediates of the caprolactam product. Adaptive evolution is performed to improve both growth and production characteristics (Fong and Palsson, Nat. Genet. 36:1056-1058 (2004); Alper et al., Science 314:1565-1568 (2006)). Based on the results, subsequent rounds of modeling, genetic engineering and adaptive evolution can be applied to the caprolactam producer to further increase production.

[0457]For large-scale production of caprolactam, the above organism is cultured in a fermenter using a medium known in the art to support growth of the organism under anaerobic conditions. Fermentations are performed in either a batch, fed-batch or continuous manner. Anaerobic conditions are maintained by first sparging the medium with nitrogen and then sealing the culture vessel, for example, flasks can be sealed with a septum and crimp-cap. Microaerobic conditions also can be utilized by providing a small hole in the septum for limited aeration. The pH of the medium is maintained at a pH of around 7 by addition of an acid, such as H₂SO₄. The growth rate is determined by measuring optical density using a spectrophotometer (600 nm) and the glucose uptake rate by monitoring carbon source depletion over time. Byproducts such as undesirable alcohols, organic acids, and residual glucose can be quantified by HPLC (Shimadzu, Columbia Md.), for example, using an Aminex® series of HPLC columns (for example, HPX-87 series) (BioRad, Hercules Calif.), using a refractive index detector for glucose and alcohols, and a UV detector for organic acids (Lin et al., Biotechnol. Bioeng. 775-779 (2005)).

Example XVI

Preparation of a Hexamethylenediamine Producing Microbial Organism Having a Pathway for Converting Acetyl-CoA and Succinyl-CoA to 6-Aminocaproic Acid

[0458]This example describes the generation of a microbial organism capable of producing hexamethylenediamine from acetyl-CoA and succinyl-CoA.

[0459]Escherichia coli is used as a target organism to engineer the hexamethylenediamine pathway shown in FIG. 10 that starts from acetyl-CoA and succinyl-CoA. E. coli provides a good host for generating a non-naturally occurring microorganism capable of producing hexamethylenediamine E. coli is amenable to genetic manipulation and is known to be capable of producing various products, like ethanol, acetic acid, formic acid, lactic acid, and succinic acid, effectively under anaerobic or microaerobic conditions.

[0460]To generate an E. coli strain engineered to produce hexamethylenediamine, nucleic acids encoding the requisite enzymes are expressed in E. coli using well known molecular biology techniques (see, for example, Sambrook, supra, 2001; Ausubel, supra, 1999). In particular, the paaJ (NP_—415915.1), paaH (NP_—415913.1), and maoC (NP_—415905.1) genes encoding the 3-oxoadipyl-CoA thiolase, 3-oxoadipyl-CoA reductase, and 3-hydroxyadipyl-CoA dehydratase activities, respectively, are cloned into the pZE13 vector (Expressys, Ruelzheim, Germany) under the PA1/lacO promoter. In addition, the bcd (NP_—349317.1) and etfAB (NP_—349315.1 and NP_—349316.1) genes encoding 5-carboxy-2-pentenoyl-CoA reductase activity are cloned into the pZA33 vector (Expressys, Ruelzheim, Germany) under the PA1/lacO promoter. Lastly, the acr1 (YP_—047869.1), gabT (NP_—417148.1), bioW (NP_—390902.2), and ygjG (NP_—417544) genes encoding adipyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming), 6-aminocaproyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming), 6-aminocaproic acid transaminase, 6-aminocaproyl-CoA synthase, and hexamethylenediamine transaminase activities are cloned into a third compatible plasmid, pZS23, under the PA1/lacO promoter. pZS23 is obtained by replacing the ampicillin resistance module of the pZS13 vector (Expressys, Ruelzheim, Germany) with a kanamycin resistance module by well-known molecular biology techniques. The three sets of plasmids are transformed into E. coli strain MG1655 to express the proteins and enzymes required for hexamethylenediamine synthesis.

[0461]The resulting genetically engineered organism is cultured in glucose-containing medium following procedures well known in the art (see, for example, Sambrook et al., supra, 2001). The expression of the hexamethylenediamine synthesis genes is corroborated using methods well known in the art for determining polypeptide expression or enzymatic activity, including for example, Northern blots, PCR amplification of mRNA, immunoblotting, and the like. Enzymatic activities of the expressed enzymes are confirmed using assays specific for the individual activities. The ability of the engineered E. coli strain to produce hexamethylenediamine is confirmed using HPLC, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS) and/or liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LCMS).

[0462]Microbial strains engineered to have a functional hexamethylenediamine synthesis pathway are further augmented by optimization for efficient utilization of the pathway. Briefly, the engineered strain is assessed to determine whether any of the exogenous genes are expressed at a rate limiting level. Expression is increased for any enzymes expressed at low levels that can limit the flux through the pathway by, for example, introduction of additional gene copy numbers.

[0463]To generate better producers, metabolic modeling is utilized to optimize growth conditions. Modeling is also used to design gene knockouts that additionally optimize utilization of the pathway (see, for example, U.S. patent publications US 2002/0012939, US 2003/0224363, US 2004/0029149, US 2004/0072723, US 2003/0059792, US 2002/0168654 and US 2004/0009466, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,127,379). Modeling analysis allows reliable predictions of the effects on cell growth of shifting the metabolism towards more efficient production of hexamethylenediamine One modeling method is the bilevel optimization approach, OptKnock (Burgard et al., Biotechnol. Bioengineer. 84:647-657 (2003)), which is applied to select gene knockouts that collectively result in better production of hexamethylenediamine Adaptive evolution also can be used to generate better producers of, for example, the acetyl-CoA and succinyl-CoA intermediates of the hexamethylenediamine product. Adaptive evolution is performed to improve both growth and production characteristics (Fong and Palsson, Nat. Genet. 36:1056-1058 (2004); Alper et al., Science 314:1565-1568 (2006)). Based on the results, subsequent rounds of modeling, genetic engineering and adaptive evolution can be applied to the hexamethylenediamine producer to further increase production.

[0464]For large-scale production of hexamethylenediamine, the above organism is cultured in a fermenter using a medium known in the art to support growth of the organism under anaerobic conditions. Fermentations are performed in either a batch, fed-batch or continuous manner. Anaerobic conditions are maintained by first sparging the medium with nitrogen and then sealing the culture vessel, for example, flasks can be sealed with a septum and crimp-cap. Microaerobic conditions also can be utilized by providing a small hole in the septum for limited aeration. The pH of the medium is maintained at a pH of around 7 by addition of an acid, such as H₂SO₄. The growth rate is determined by measuring optical density using a spectrophotometer (600 nm) and the glucose uptake rate by monitoring carbon source depletion over time. Byproducts such as undesirable alcohols, organic acids, and residual glucose can be quantified by HPLC (Shimadzu, Columbia Md.), for example, using an Aminex® series of HPLC columns (for example, HPX-87 series) (BioRad, Hercules Calif.), using a refractive index detector for glucose and alcohols, and a UV detector for organic acids (Lin et al., Biotechnol. Bioeng. 775-779 (2005)).

Example XVII

Preparation of a Caprolactam Producing Microbial Organism Having a Pathway for Converting Acetyl-CoA and 4-Aminobutyryl-CoA to 6-Aminocaproyl-CoA

[0465]This example describes the generation of a microbial organism capable of producing caprolactam from acetyl-CoA and 4-aminobutyryl-CoA.

[0466]Escherichia coli is used as a target organism to engineer the caprolactam pathway shown in FIG. 11 that starts from acetyl-CoA and 4-aminobutyryl-CoA. E. coli provides a good host for generating a non-naturally occurring microorganism capable of producing caprolactam. E. coli is amenable to genetic manipulation and is known to be capable of producing various products, like ethanol, acetic acid, formic acid, lactic acid, and succinic acid, effectively under anaerobic or microaerobic conditions.

[0467]To generate an E. coli strain engineered to produce caprolactam, nucleic acids encoding the requisite enzymes are expressed in E. coli using well known molecular biology techniques (see, for example, Sambrook, supra, 2001; Ausubel, supra, 1999). In particular, the paaJ (NP_—415915.1), paaH (NP_—415913.1), and maoC (NP_—415905.1) genes encoding the 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA thiolase, 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA reductase, 3-hydroxy-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA dehydratase activities, respectively, are cloned into the pZE13 vector (Expressys, Ruelzheim, Germany) under the PA1/lacO promoter. In addition, the bcd (NP_—349317.1) and etfAB (NP_—349315.1 and NP_—349316.1) genes encoding 6-aminohex-2-enoyl-CoA reductase activity are cloned into the pZA33 vector (Expressys, Ruelzheim, Germany) under the PA1/lacO promoter. Lastly, the sucD (NP_—904963.1), gabT (NP_—417148.1), and cat2 (P38942.2) genes encoding succinyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming), GABA transaminase, and 4-aminobutyryl-CoA/acyl-CoA transferase activities are cloned into a third compatible plasmid, pZS23, under the PA1/lacO promoter, to increase the availability of 4-aminobutyryl-CoA. pZS23 is obtained by replacing the ampicillin resistance module of the pZS13 vector (Expressys, Ruelzheim, Germany) with a kanamycin resistance module by well-known molecular biology techniques. The three sets of plasmids are transformed into E. coli strain MG1655 to express the proteins and enzymes required for caprolactam synthesis.

[0468]The resulting genetically engineered organism is cultured in glucose-containing medium following procedures well known in the art (see, for example, Sambrook et al., supra, 2001). The expression of the caprolactam synthesis genes is corroborated using methods well known in the art for determining polypeptide expression or enzymatic activity, including for example, Northern blots, PCR amplification of mRNA, immunoblotting, and the like. Enzymatic activities of the expressed enzymes are confirmed using assays specific for the individual activities. The ability of the engineered E. coli strain to produce caprolactam is confirmed using HPLC, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS) and/or liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LCMS).

[0469]Microbial strains engineered to have a functional caprolactam synthesis pathway are further augmented by optimization for efficient utilization of the pathway. Briefly, the engineered strain is assessed to determine whether any of the exogenous genes are expressed at a rate limiting level. Expression is increased for any enzymes expressed at low levels that can limit the flux through the pathway by, for example, introduction of additional gene copy numbers.

[0470]To generate better producers, metabolic modeling is utilized to optimize growth conditions. Modeling is also used to design gene knockouts that additionally optimize utilization of the pathway (see, for example, U.S. patent publications US 2002/0012939, US 2003/0224363, US 2004/0029149, US 2004/0072723, US 2003/0059792, US 2002/0168654 and US 2004/0009466, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,127,379). Modeling analysis allows reliable predictions of the effects on cell growth of shifting the metabolism towards more efficient production of caprolactam. One modeling method is the bilevel optimization approach, OptKnock (Burgard et al., Biotechnol. Bioengineer. 84:647-657 (2003)), which is applied to select gene knockouts that collectively result in better production of caprolactam. Adaptive evolution also can be used to generate better producers of, for example, the acetyl-CoA and succinyl-CoA intermediates of the caprolactam product. Adaptive evolution is performed to improve both growth and production characteristics (Fong and Palsson, Nat. Genet. 36:1056-1058 (2004); Alper et al., Science 314:1565-1568 (2006)). Based on the results, subsequent rounds of modeling, genetic engineering and adaptive evolution can be applied to the caprolactam producer to further increase production.

[0471]For large-scale production of caprolactam, the above organism is cultured in a fermenter using a medium known in the art to support growth of the organism under anaerobic conditions. Fermentations are performed in either a batch, fed-batch or continuous manner. Anaerobic conditions are maintained by first sparging the medium with nitrogen and then sealing the culture vessel, for example, flasks can be sealed with a septum and crimp-cap. Microaerobic conditions also can be utilized by providing a small hole in the septum for limited aeration. The pH of the medium is maintained at a pH of around 7 by addition of an acid, such as H₂SO₄. The growth rate is determined by measuring optical density using a spectrophotometer (600 nm) and the glucose uptake rate by monitoring carbon source depletion over time. Byproducts such as undesirable alcohols, organic acids, and residual glucose can be quantified by HPLC (Shimadzu, Columbia Md.), for example, using an Aminex® series of HPLC columns (for example, HPX-87 series) (BioRad, Hercules Calif.), using a refractive index detector for glucose and alcohols, and a UV detector for organic acids (Lin et al., Biotechnol. Bioeng. 775-779 (2005)).

Example XVIII

Preparation of a Hexamethylenediamine Producing Microbial Organism Having a Pathway for Converting Acetyl-CoA and 4-Aminobutyryl-CoA to 6-Aminocaproyl-CoA

[0472]This example describes the generation of a microbial organism capable of producing hexamethylenediamine from acetyl-CoA and 4-aminobutyryl-CoA.

[0473]Escherichia coli is used as a target organism to engineer the hexamethylenediamine pathway shown in Figure XVII that starts from acetyl-CoA and 4-aminobutyryl-CoA. E. coli provides a good host for generating a non-naturally occurring microorganism capable of producing hexamethylenediamine E. coli is amenable to genetic manipulation and is known to be capable of producing various products, like ethanol, acetic acid, formic acid, lactic acid, and succinic acid, effectively under anaerobic or microaerobic conditions.

[0474]To generate an E. coli strain engineered to produce hexamethylenediamine, nucleic acids encoding the requisite enzymes are expressed in E. coli using well known molecular biology techniques (see, for example, Sambrook, supra, 2001; Ausubel, supra, 1999). In particular, the paaJ (NP_—415915.1), paaH (NP_—415913.1), and maoC (NP_—415905.1) genes encoding the 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA thiolase, 3-oxo-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA reductase, 3-hydroxy-6-aminohexanoyl-CoA dehydratase activities, respectively, are cloned into the pZE13 vector (Expressys, Ruelzheim, Germany) under the PA1/lacO promoter. In addition, the bcd (NP_—349317.1), etfAB (NP_—349315.1 and NP_—349316.1), acr1 (YP_—047869.1), and ygjG (NP_—417544) genes encoding 6-aminohex-2-enoyl-CoA reductase, 6-aminocaproyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming), and hexamethylenediamine transaminase activities are cloned into the pZA33 vector (Expressys, Ruelzheim, Germany) under the PA1/lacO promoter. Lastly, the sucD (NP_—904963.1), gabT (NP_—417148.1), and cat2 (P38942.2) genes encoding succinyl-CoA reductase (aldehyde forming), GABA transaminase, and 4-aminobutyryl-CoA/acyl-CoA transferase activities are cloned into a third compatible plasmid, pZS23, under the PA1/lacO promoter, to increase the availability of 4-aminobutyryl-CoA. pZS23 is obtained by replacing the ampicillin resistance module of the pZS13 vector (Expressys, Ruelzheim, Germany) with a kanamycin resistance module by well-known molecular biology techniques. The three sets of plasmids are transformed into E. coli strain MG1655 to express the proteins and enzymes required for hexamethylenediamine synthesis.

[0475]The resulting genetically engineered organism is cultured in glucose-containing medium following procedures well known in the art (see, for example, Sambrook et al., supra, 2001). The expression of the hexamethylenediamine synthesis genes is corroborated using methods well known in the art for determining polypeptide expression or enzymatic activity, including for example, Northern blots, PCR amplification of mRNA, immunoblotting, and the like. Enzymatic activities of the expressed enzymes are confirmed using assays specific for the individual activities. The ability of the engineered E. coli strain to produce hexamethylenediamine is confirmed using HPLC, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS) and/or liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LCMS).

[0476]Microbial strains engineered to have a functional hexamethylenediamine synthesis pathway are further augmented by optimization for efficient utilization of the pathway. Briefly, the engineered strain is assessed to determine whether any of the exogenous genes are expressed at a rate limiting level. Expression is increased for any enzymes expressed at low levels that can limit the flux through the pathway by, for example, introduction of additional gene copy numbers.

[0477]To generate better producers, metabolic modeling is utilized to optimize growth conditions. Modeling is also used to design gene knockouts that additionally optimize utilization of the pathway (see, for example, U.S. patent publications US 2002/0012939, US 2003/0224363, US 2004/0029149, US 2004/0072723, US 2003/0059792, US 2002/0168654 and US 2004/0009466, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,127,379). Modeling analysis allows reliable predictions of the effects on cell growth of shifting the metabolism towards more efficient production of hexamethylenediamine One modeling method is the bilevel optimization approach, OptKnock (Burgard et al., Biotechnol. Bioengineer. 84:647-657 (2003)), which is applied to select gene knockouts that collectively result in better production of hexamethylenediamine Adaptive evolution also can be used to generate better producers of, for example, the acetyl-CoA and succinyl-CoA intermediates of the hexamethylenediamine product. Adaptive evolution is performed to improve both growth and production characteristics (Fong and Palsson, Nat. Genet. 36:1056-1058 (2004); Alper et al., Science 314:1565-1568 (2006)). Based on the results, subsequent rounds of modeling, genetic engineering and adaptive evolution can be applied to the hexamethylenediamine producer to further increase production.

[0478]For large-scale production of hexamethylenediamine, the above organism is cultured in a fermenter using a medium known in the art to support growth of the organism under anaerobic conditions. Fermentations are performed in either a batch, fed-batch or continuous manner. Anaerobic conditions are maintained by first sparging the medium with nitrogen and then sealing the culture vessel, for example, flasks can be sealed with a septum and crimp-cap. Microaerobic conditions also can be utilized by providing a small hole in the septum for limited aeration. The pH of the medium is maintained at a pH of around 7 by addition of an acid, such as H₂SO₄. The growth rate is determined by measuring optical density using a spectrophotometer (600 nm) and the glucose uptake rate by monitoring carbon source depletion over time. Byproducts such as undesirable alcohols, organic acids, and residual glucose can be quantified by HPLC (Shimadzu, Columbia Md.), for example, using an Aminex® series of HPLC columns (for example, HPX-87 series) (BioRad, Hercules Calif.), using a refractive index detector for glucose and alcohols, and a UV detector for organic acids (Lin et al., Biotechnol. Bioeng. 775-779 (2005)).

Example XIX

Pathways for Production of 6-Aminocaproic Acid from Succinic Semialdehyde and Pyruvate

[0479]This example describes exemplary pathways for production of 6-aminocaproic acid.

[0480]Novel pathways for producing 6-aminocaproic acid (6-ACA) and related products are described herein. These pathways synthesize 6-ACA from succinic semialdehyde and pyruvate, utilizing aldolase and hydratase enzymes from the 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid degradation pathway. The candidate enzymes, and associated risks of implementation are discussed in Example XXI below.

[0481]This invention is directed, in part, to non-naturally occurring microorganisms that express genes encoding enzymes that catalyze 6-ACA production. Successfully engineering these pathways entails identifying an appropriate set of enzymes with sufficient activity and specificity, cloning their corresponding genes into a production host, optimizing the expression of these genes in the production host, optimizing fermentation conditions, and assaying for product formation following fermentation.

[0482]6-aminocaproic acid and derivatives are produced from succinic semialdehyde and pyruvate in a minimum of five enzymatic steps. In the first step of all pathways, pyruvate and succinic semialdehyde are joined by 4-hydroxy-2-oxoheptane-1,7-dioate (HODH) aldolase. The product of this reaction, HODH, is then dehydrated by 2-oxohept-4-ene-1,7-dioate (OHED) hydratase to form OHED. In subsequent steps, OHED is transaminated, decarboxylated or reduced as shown in FIG. 12.

[0483]In one route, the alkene of OHED is reduced by OHED reductase, forming 2-oxoheptane-1,7-dioate (2-OHD) (FIG. 12, Step C), a 2-ketoacid. 2-OHD is then converted to adipate semialdehyde by a ketoacid decarboxylase (FIG. 12, Step D). In the final step, the aldehyde of adipate semialdehyde is converted to an amine by an aminotransferase or an aminating oxidoreductase (FIG. 12, Step E).

[0484]In a similar route, the 2-keto group of 2-OHD is transaminated by an aminotransferase or an aminating oxidoreductase (FIG. 12, Step H) to form 2-aminoheptane-1,7-dioate (2-AHD). This product is then decarboxylated by 2-AHD decarboxylase to form 6-aminocapropate (FIG. 12, Step I).

[0485]In an alternate route, OHED is first decarboxylated by OHED decarboxylase (FIG. 12, Step F), resulting in the formation of 6-oxohex-4-enoate (6-OHE). The alkenal group of 6-OHE is reduced by an oxidoreductase to adipate semialdehyde (FIG. 12, Step G). Adipate semialdehyde is then converted to 6-aminocaproate by an aminotransferase or aminating oxidoreductase (FIG. 12, Step E).

[0486]Yet another route calls for an aminotransferase or aminating oxidoreductase to convert OHED to 2-aminohept-4-ene-1,7-dioate (2-AHE) (FIG. 12, Step J). The alkene of 2-AHE is subsequently reduced by an alkene oxidoreductase (FIG. 12, Step K). The product of this reaction, 2-AHD, is then decarboxylated by an amino acid decarboxylase (FIG. 12, Step I) to form 6-aminocaproate.

[0487]In yet another route, HODH is converted to 3-hydroxyadipyl-CoA by either an HODH dehydrogenase or and HODH formate-lyase (FIG. 12, Step L). 3-Hydroxyadipyl-CoA is subsequently dehydrated and reduced to form adipyl-CoA (FIG. 12, Steps M, N). Adipyl-CoA is reduced and de-acylated to form adipate semialdehyde (FIG. 12, Step O), which is then converted to 6-aminocaproate by an aminotransferase or an aminating oxidoreductase (FIG. 12, Step E).

[0488]In a similar route, HODH is first converted to OHED (FIG. 12, Step B), as described above. OHED is then converted to 2,3-dehydroadipyl-CoA by a dehydrogenase or an OHED formate-lyase (FIG. 12, Step P). 2,3-Dihydroadipyl-CoA is then reduced to adipyl-CoA (FIG. 12, Step N), which is converted to 6-aminocaproate via adipate semialdehyde (FIG. 12, Steps O, E), as described previously.