Heterologous expression of phaC2 gene and poly-3-hydroxyalkanoate production by recombinant Cupriavidus necator strains using canola oil as carbon source

•The functional activity of PhaC2 synthase of Pseudomonas putida CA-3 is first reported.•Heterologous expression is performed in Cupriavidus necator strains.•PhaC2 synthase enzyme has a broad-substrate specificity of scl-PHA to mcl-PHA monomers.•Co-expression study produced a PHA blend-polymer.•Use of canola oil for scl-mcl PHA production is promising. Many heterologous transformation studies have been carried out using the Cupriavidus necator PHB−4 strain to investigate the expression characteristics of various polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) synthase enzymes. In this study, we generated a recombinant C. necator PHB−4 strain by transforming a plasmid (pMRC03) harbouring the synthetic phaC2 gene of Pseudomonas putida CA-3. Under conditions favourable for expression of the phaC2 P.putCA-3 gene, canola oil was used as carbon source for the synthesis of PHAs. The expressed synthase polymerised monomers of 3-hydroxybutyrate (3-HB), 3-hydroxyvalerate (3-HV) and 3-hydroxyhexanoate (3-HHx) in the recombinant C. necator PHB−4 (pMRC03) strain. We then co-expressed the phaC2P.putCA-3 gene with the native phaC1C.ne gene in wild type Cupriavidus necator H16 (C. necator H16 (pMRC03)). This co-expression produced a PHA blend of 3-HB, 3-HV, 3-HHx and 3-hydroxyoctanoate (3-HO) monomers in the presence of canola oil. Gas chromatography analysis revealed the presence of 94mol% 3-HB, 1mol% 3-HV, 4mol% 3-HHx and 1mol% 3-HO in a tetra-polymer. Thus, we confirmed that a synthetic phaC2 gene encoding the synthase enzyme is functionally active with substrates ranging from short to medium chain length PHAs.