Improving CoQ(10) productivity by strengthening glucose transmembrane of Rhodobacter sphaeroides

BACKGROUND: Several Rhodobacter sphaeroides have been widely applied in commercial CoQ(10) production, but they have poor glucose use. Strategies for enhancing glucose use have been widely exploited in R. sphaeroides. Nevertheless, little research has focused on the role of glucose transmembrane in the improvement of production. RESULTS: There are two potential glucose transmembrane pathways in R. sphaeroides ATCC 17023: the fructose specific-phosphotransferase system (PTS(Fru), fruAB) and non-PTS that relied on glucokinase (glk). fruAB mutation revealed two effects on bacterial growth: inhibition at the early cultivation phase (12–24 h) and promotion since 36 h. Glucose metabolism showed a corresponding change in characteristic vs. the growth. For ΔfruAΔfruB, maximum biomass (Bio(max)) was increased by 44.39% and the CoQ(10) content was 27.08% more than that of the WT. glk mutation caused a significant decrease in growth and glucose metabolism. Over-expressing a galactose:H(+) symporter (galP) in the ΔfruAΔfruB relieved the inhibition and enhanced the growth further. Finally, a mutant with rapid growth and high CoQ(10) titer was constructed (ΔfruAΔfruB/tac::galP(OP)) using several glucose metabolism modifications and was verified by fermentation in 1 L fermenters. CONCLUSIONS: The PTS(Fru) mutation revealed two effects on bacterial growth: inhibition at the early cultivation phase and promotion later. Additionally, biomass yield to glucose (Y(b/glc)) and CoQ(10) synthesis can be promoted using fruAB mutation, and glk plays a key role in glucose metabolism. Strengthening glucose transmembrane via non-PTS improves the productivity of CoQ(10) fermentation. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12934-021-01695-z.