Aqueous-Phase Polycondensation of Hydroxy Fatty Acids via a Whole-Cell CoA Activation-Acyltransferase Cascade.

ABSTRACT: Polyester formation by polycondensation in water is limited by an esterification-hydrolysis equilibrium that strongly favors hydrolysis under mild conditions. Although aqueous-phase esterification has been demonstrated with chemical catalysts and isolated enzymes, these systems typically target small-molecule esters or rely on preactivated donors. The polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) pathway is the only known native metabolic route for polyester biosynthesis, but it is essentially limited to the polymerization of 3-hydroxybutyrate and related short-chain hydroxyalkanoate monomers. Consequently, realizing efficient aqueous-phase polycondensation to high-molar-mass polyesters remains a major challenge. Here, an intracellular CoA activation/acyltransferase cascade (ACOS5 _At -WS2 <

SUBMITTER: Jin S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12933353 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature