Batch production of coenzyme Q10 by recombinant Escherichia coli containing the decaprenyl diphosphate synthase gene from Sphingomonas baekryungensis

Coenzyme Q₁₀ (CoQ₁₀) is an important antioxidant used in medicine, dietary supplements, and cosmetic applications. In the present work, the production of CoQ₁₀ using a recombinant Escherichia coli strain containing the decaprenyl diphosphate synthase from Sphingomonasbaekryungensis was investigated, wherein the effects of culture medium, temperature, and agitation rate on the production process were assessed. It was found that Luria–Bertani (LB) medium was superior to M9 with glucose medium. Higher temperature (37 °C) and higher agitation rate (900 rpm) improved the specific CoQ₁₀ content significantly in LB medium; on the contrary, the use of M9 medium with glucose showed similar values. Specifically, in LB medium, an increase from 300 to 900 rpm in the agitation rate resulted in increases of 55 and 197 % in the specific CoQ₁₀ content and C_OQ₁₀ productivity, respectively. Therefore, the results obtained in the present work are a valuable contribution for the optimization of CoQ₁₀ production processes using recombinant E. coli strains.