In France, DEINOVE announced that it has completed conclusive proof of concept for the production of muconic acid by a Deinococcus bacterium and has decided to launch a new R&D platform in this field.
Using their proprietary metabolic engineering tools, DEINOVE R&D has successfully designed a Deinococcus bacterium capable of producing renewable muconic acid, a particularly sought-after chemical intermediate, from a variety of feedstocks.
This project’s development, alongside the Deinol and Deinochem programs, is based on thorough analyses of the technical and economic opportunities and competitive landscape:
At the technical level, the physiology of Deinococcus is well-suited for the production of this molecule, providing a critical competitive advantage compared with other alternatives. Indeed, the aerobic muconic acid production is close to the normal physiology of these bacteria and their metabolic flow is more favorable to this fermentation than other reference microorganisms.
At the commercial level, muconic acid is a versatile chemical intermediate whose derivatives – caprolactam, terephthalic acid (a precursor to PET) and adipic acid — are widely used in the plastics industry (notably for automotive and packaging applications), the production of synthetic fibers for textiles or industry (mainly nylon) and food (acidifying agent). The combined annual market value of these products is estimated to be worth several tens of billions of dollars.
