Establishment of efficient 5-hydroxyvaleric acid production system by regenerating alpha-ketoglutaric acid and its application in poly(5-hydroxyvaleric acid) production

5-hydroxyvaleric acid (5-HV) is a versatile C5 intermediate of bio-based high-value chemical synthesis pathways. However, 5-HV production faces a few shortcomings involving the supply of cofactors, especially α-ketoglutaric acid (α-KG). Herein, we established a two-cell biotransformation system by introducing L-glutamate oxidase (GOX) to regenerate α-KG. Additionally, the catalase KatE was adapted to inhibit α-KG degradation by the H2O2 produced during GOX reaction. We searched for the best combination of genes and vectors and optimized the biotransformation conditions to maximize GOX effectiveness. Under the optimized conditions, 5-HV pathway with GOX showed 1.60-fold higher productivity than that of without GOX, showing 11.3 g/L titer. Further, the two-cell system with GOX and KatE was expanded to produce poly(5-hydroxyvaleric acid) (P(5HV)), and it reached at 412 mg/L of P(5HV) production and 20.5% PHA contents when using the biotransformation supernatant. Thus, the two-cell biotransformation system with GOX can potentially give the practical and economic alternative of 5-HV production using bio-based methods. We also propose direct utilization of 5-HV from bioconversion for P(5HV) production. •5-hydroxyvaleric acid (5-HV) is a versatile C5 intermediate of high-value chemical synthesis pathways.•Two-cell biotransformation system was established for high 5-HV production by introducing L-glutamate oxidase (GOX).•Catalase (KatE) was simultaneously applied to inhibit the degradation of α-ketoglutaric acid.•By introducing GOX, 11.3 g/L titer of 5-HV was produced and 1.60-fold faster turnover was observed.•Our research was expanded to the synthesis of poly(5-hydroxyvaleric acid) (P(5HV)), and 412 mg/L of P(5HV) was obtained.