Efficient synthesis of 4-O-Β-D-glucopyranosylferulic acid from ferulic acid by whole cells harboring glycosyltransferase GT_BP1

Ferulic acid is a naturally occurring antioxidant, and its glycosylation is a potential approach used to improve its pharmaceutical properties. The regioselective glycosylation of ferulic acid was successfully achieved by pH adjustment using glycosyltransferase GT_BP1 from Bacillus pumilus BF1. 4-O-β-D-Glucopyranosylferulic acid was efficiently synthesized with molar yield of 90.2% by the recombinant Escherichia coli harboring GT_BP1 at pH 7.0. Maltose was the most efficient sugar donor for UDPG circulation of whole cells. This work proposes a method for efficient synthesis of unitary 4-O-β-D-glucopyranosylferulic acid by microbe-derived glycosyltransferase.