Cascade Biocatalysis for Sustainable Asymmetric Synthesis: From Biobased l‐Phenylalanine to High‐Value Chiral Chemicals

Sustainable synthesis of useful and valuable chiral fine chemicals from renewable feedstocks is highly desirable but remains challenging. Reported herein is a designed and engineered set of unique non‐natural biocatalytic cascades to achieve the asymmetric synthesis of chiral epoxide, diols, hydroxy acid, and amino acid in high yield and with excellent ee values from the easily available biobased l ‐phenylalanine. Each of the cascades was efficiently performed in one pot by using the cells of a single recombinant strain over‐expressing 4–10 different enzymes. The cascade biocatalysis approach is promising for upgrading biobased bulk chemicals to high‐value chiral chemicals. In addition, combining the non‐natural enzyme cascades with the natural metabolic pathway of the host strain enabled the fermentative production of the chiral fine chemicals from glucose.