The present invention concerns a method of producing and enantiomerically pure alpha-ionone. Further, the invention concerns a nucleic acid that comprises a sequence that encodes a lycopene-epsilon-cyclase (EC), a lycopene-epsilon-cyclase (EC), plasmids, which encode components of the alpha-ionone biosynthesis and a microorganism that contains heterologous nucleotide sequences which encode the enzymes geranylgeranyl-diphosphate-synthase, isopentenyl-diphosphate-isomerase (IPI), phytoene desaturase-dehydrogenase (crtI), phytoene synthase (crtB), lycopene-epsilon-cyclase (EC) and carotenoid-cleavage-dioxygenase (CCD1). Further, the invention concerns a method of producing highly pure epsilon-carotene.

A method for producing benzaldehyde is provided. Benzaldehyde is produced by a method including a step of using amino acid deaminase (AAD), 4-hydroxymandelate synthase (HMAS), (S)-mandelate dehydrogenase (SMDH), and benzoylformate decarboxylase (BFDC) over a time period, wherein the producing step is carried out in the presence of catalase during a portion of said time period.

Clostridium sp. are an obligate anaerobic bacterium that produces butyric acid as its major end-product. Previously, we have developed an integrated process that couples fermentation of biomass sugars, with in situ product recovery and distillation. This process works best at pH's lower than 7.0. The process serves to extract carboxylic acids during fermentation which enables reduced base-loading and reduced end-product toxicity. Disclosed herein are methods and non-naturally Clostridium sp. that are capable of increased production of butyric acid and increased growth at low pH conditions (e.g., pH<5.0).

The present invention relates to engineered microbial host cells comprising exogenous genes coding for proteins responsible for converting histidine and cysteine into ergothioneine in greater efficiency than the wild-type cells. Also provided in this invention are methods for producing ergothioneine using the engineered microbial host cells of the present invention.

The present invention concerns a method of producing and enantiomerically pure alpha-ionone. Further, the invention concerns a nucleic acid that comprises a sequence that encodes a lycopene-epsilon-cyclase (EC), a lycopene-epsilon-cyclase (EC), plasmids, which encode components of the alpha-ionone biosynthesis and a microorganism that contains heterologous nucleotide sequences which encode the enzymes geranylgeranyl-diphosphate-synthase, isopentenyl-diphosphate-isomerase (IPI), phytoene desaturase-dehydrogenase (crtI), phytoene synthase (crtB), lycopene-epsilon-cyclase (EC) and carotenoid-cleavage-dioxygenase (CCD1). Further, the invention concerns a method of producing highly pure epsilon-carotene.