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Template:Team:KULeuven/Components/Vanillin Production
From 2009.igem.org
Vanillin Production
A vanilla odour is created by synthesizing the molecule Vanillin. The starting point is tyrosine, an amino acid produced endogenously in E.coli. The subsequent pathway involves a combination of five enzymes. The first enzyme converts tyrosine to p-coumaric acid. The second enzyme converts p-Coumaric acid to caffeic acid. The third enzyme produces ferulic acid from caffeic acid. The fourth enzume ligates acetyl-CoA onto ferulic acid and produces feruloyl CoA. The fifth and last enzyme cleaves the CoA group from feruloyl CoA thereby converting it to vanillin. By locking both the transcription of the first and the third enzyme we prevent vanillin synthesis without the presence of the key.
