PubMed · 2026-05-20
Scientists engineered bacteria to produce trigonelline, a beneficial compound naturally found in fenugreek seeds, achieving yields over 128 mg/L — a first step toward making this plant-derived molecule without needing to grow or harvest plants at all.
Initial bacterial production of trigonelline reached 13.59 mg/L, which was improved to 29.95 mg/L through pathway engineering in shake-flask cultures.
Fed-batch fermentation in a 5-liter bioreactor boosted final yield to 128.38 mg/L — roughly a 9× improvement over the starting point.
Key engineering moves included blocking a competing pathway (deleting pncB), fusing enzymes into complexes for efficiency, and importing genes from yeast to increase supply of the precursor molecule nicotinate.
