RuBisCO-based CO2 fixation improves glutamate production in Corynebacterium glutamicum

Background and introduction Efficiently harnessing CO 2 for the bioproduction of chemicals stands as an important way to mitigate CO 2 emissions and actively advance the achievement of carbon neutrality. Drawing inspiration from the natural Calvin-Benson-Bassham (CBB) cycle for CO 2 fixation, the heterologous introduction of phosphoribulokinase (PRK) and ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCO) into microbial cell factories emerges as a highly promising method for fully harnessing CO 2 for bioproduction purposes. Methods In this study, we engineered the industrial glutamate-hyperproducing strain Corynebacterium glutamicum YPGlu001 by introducing a heterologous RuBisCO-PRK pathway. Two metabolic configurations were evaluated: a “replacement” strategy, which blocked native glycolytic and pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) fluxes (via Δ gap , Δ gapX , Δ pgk , and Δ zwf ) to force carbon through the CBB shunt; and a “complementation” strategy, where the CO 2 -fixation pathway supplemented the native central metabolism. Pathway performance was optimized through promoter engineering (P tac , P H30 , P fba , P groES ) and adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) under increasing CO 2 stress. Results Comparative analysis revealed that the “replacement” strategy severely impaired cell growth and glutamate synthesis, with ALE failing to restore the desired production levels. In contrast, the “complementation” strategy significantly enhanced metabolic performance. The optimized strain GluE014 exhibited superior carbon-to-product conversion, achieving a glutamate titer of 196.78 g/L in a 5 L fed-batch fermenter within 30 h. This represents a 13.94% increase in titer and an 11.55% improvement in glucose-based yield compared to the parental strain. Furthermore, the engineered strain demonstrated improved carbon economy, reducing glucose consumption by 5.24% while maintaining high productivity. Conclusion This work demonstrates that “complementing” native metabolism with a CO 2 -fixation shunt is more effective than “replacing” essential pathways in industrial C. glutamicum . By successfully integrating heterologous CO 2 assimilation with robust industrial fermentation, this study provides a scalable and efficient blueprint for developing next-generation, carbon-negative microbial cell factories.