Fermentative Production of trans-4-Hydroxy-L-proline by Clonostachys cylindrospora

Studies were done on fermentative production of hydroxyproline, a useful chiral source of the side chain moiety of carbapenems. Various microorganisms were screened using an automatic screening-robot system, AminoQuant (Hewlett-Packard), and we found that one fungus strain produced 13.8 μg/ml of trans-4-hydroxy-L-proline (t-Hyp). The strain was identified as Clonostachys cylindrospora SANK 14591. Addition of L-proline or glycine to the culture medium stimulated the production of t-Hyp by C. cylindrospora. A 13C-NMR study found that L-proline but not glycine was incorporated into t-Hyp.