L-amino acids and nucleotides find various applications in food
biotechnology. L-glutamic acid and its salts as well as 5’-nucleotides are used as flavor
enhancers. Other L-amino acids are used as food or feed additives, in parenteral
nutrition or as synthons for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. L-amino acids
and nucleotides are synthesized from precursors of central carbon metabolism. Based
on the knowledge of the biochemical pathways microbial fermentation processes of
food, feed and pharma amino acids and of nucleotides have been developed. Production
strains of Corynebacterium glutamicum, which has been used safely for more than 50
years in food biotechnology, and Escherichia coli are constantly improved using
metabolic engineering approaches. Research towards new processes is ongoing.
Fermentative production of L-amino acids in the million-ton-scale has shaped modern
biotechnology and its markets continue to grow steadily.
Keywords: Corynebacterium glutamicum, Escherichia coli, Essential amino
acids, Feed additives, Flavor enhancers, Food additives, GMP, IMP, Lpyrrolysine
fermentation, L-selenocysteine, Metabolic engineering, MSG,
Nucleotides, Production strain development, Proteinogenic amino acids, XMP.
