De Novo Biosynthesis of 4-Vinylanisole in Engineered Escherichia coli

4-Vinylanisole is an aggregation pheromone of the locust. Both gregarious and solitary locusts exhibit a strong attraction toward 4-vinylanisole, irrespective of gender or age. Therefore, 4-vinylanisole can be used for trapping and monitoring locusts. In this study, the construction of a de novo 4-vinylanisole pathway in Escherichia coli has been demonstrated for the first time. Subsequently, by increasing the supply of precursor substrates, we further improved the biosynthesis of 4-vinylanisole. Finally, a two-phase organic overlay culture was used to increase the titer to 206 mg/L. It presents a sustainable and ecofriendly alternative for the synthesis of 4-vinylanisole.