Production of Functional Coenzyme Q10 from Genetic Engineered Rhodobactersphaeroides

The aim of this study was to enhance the Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) production from Rhodobactersphaeroides. CoQ10acts as an electron carrier and plays an important role in the aerobic respiration for the production of ATP. CoQ10 has been proven to be effective for treatment of human diseases and widely used in food and pharmaceutical industry. In the present study, the ubiE gene located in CoQ10 biosynthesis pathway was overexpressed in Rb. sphaeroides under strong pufoperon promoter and micro-aerobic growth conditions to enhance CoQ10 production. The growth curve implied that effect of overexpression of ubiE on the growth of host cells was slight. The crude CoQ10 production was enhanced by 80.61%, which was increased much higher than reported literature. The ubiE mRNA level was significantly increased compared to the wild type harboring empty vector as measured by quantitative RT-PCR. Furthermore, the crude CoQ10 possessed strong hydroxyl radical scavenging activity as measured in vivo by zone of inhibition assay. The in vitro assay indicated that the crude CoQ10 exhibited much stronger hydroxyl radical scavenging activity than normally used antioxidant vitamin C.