Rewiring Bacillus subtilis and bioprocess optimization for oxidoreductive reaction-mediated biosynthesis of D-tagatose.

[Display omitted] • A high-performance galactitol dehydrogenase was identified and charactered. • Redox pathway was constructed in Bacillus subtilis for D-tagatose production from D-galactose. • Fine-tuned promoter and cofactor regeneration provided 6.75-fold higher D-tagatose. • Optimum fermentation conditions and medium composition produced 39.57 g/L D-tagatose, providing a potential approach for D-tagatose production. D-tagatose holds significant importance as a functional monosaccharide with diverse applications in food, medicine, and other fields. This study aimed to explore the oxidoreductive pathway for D-tagatose production, surpassing the contemporary isomerization-mediated biosynthesis approach in order to enhance the thermodynamic equilibrium of the reactions. Initially, a novel galactitol dehydrogenase was discovered through biochemical and bioinformatics analyses. By co-expressing the galactitol dehydrogenase and xylose reductase, the oxidoreductive pathway for D-tagatose synthesis was successfully established in Bacillus subtilis. Subsequently, pathway fine-tuning was achieved via promoter regulation and dehydrogenase-mediated cofactor regeneration, resulting in 6.75-fold higher D-tagatose compared to that produced by the strain containing the unmodified promoter. Finally, optimization of fermentation conditions and medium composition produced 39.57 g/L D-tagatose in a fed-batch experiment, with a productivity of 0.33 g/L/h and a yield of 0.55 mol/mol D-galactose. These findings highlight the potential of the constructed redox pathway as an effective approach for D-tagatose production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]