Whole-cell Mediated Carboxylation of 2-Furoic Acid Towards the Production of Renewable Platform Chemicals and Biomaterials

2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) has gained great industrial interest as a renewable alternative to terephthalic acid (TPA) in the generation of bioplastics. However, chemical production of FDCA involves harsh reaction conditions not aligned with sustainable manufacturing. Herein, we demonstrate the use of whole-cell mediated synthesis of FDCA from 2-furoic acid (FA) as substrate. Our approach moves away from the use of isolated enzymes by supplementing the UbiD-UbiX system in E. coli with the gene of P. thermopropionicum HmfF (PtHmfF) known to generate FDCA. The resulting whole-cell system allows for production of FDCA under mild conditions by carboxylation of FA. We show how the enzymatically produced FDCA can be used to generate FDCA-based biopolymers along with a terpene-based diol monomer by enzymatic polycondensation catalyzed by Candida antarctica lipase B (CALB). This work high-lights how underutilized hemicellulose-derived C5 building blocks can be converted into renewable platform chemicals and materials by a simple cell factory in a CO2 sequestration process.