Phase II: Microbial Fermentation of Taurine for the Sustainable Production of a Nutritional Ingredient

Taurine an essential nutrient for human and animal health naturally occurs in meat and otheranimal products. As we shift to more plant-based food and feed diets taurine must be added asan ingredient or a supplement to maintain healthy taurine levels. Currently three Chinesecompanies produce 85% of the world's taurine supply using a petroleum-based process thatharms humans animals and the environment. The overall project goal is to produce a cost- competitive non-petroleum source of taurine using a bio-based solution with renewableresources. Our approach uses recombinant microbes as bio-factories in a fermentor with simplesugar and natural compounds to produce taurine. The bio-based taurine could be added as anutritional ingredient in alternative protein products or used in a broad range of market sectorsincluding food feed and personal care. This Phase II project aims to establish a minimum viableprocess for the commercial production of pure bio-based taurine. To achieve this goal (1)genetic modifications will be applied to increase taurine production by overexpressing genes inthe serine precursor pathway deregulating genes in the sulfur pathway and constructing orderedassemblies of peptides in the taurine pathway and (2) a downstream processing (DSP) protocolwill be developed. This project addresses the USDA NIFA goal to contribute to the nation'senergy independence through sustainable production of bio-based products and with the aim ofthe Food Science and Nutrition topic area to develop new and improved technologies andproducts that enhance the nutritional quality of foods.