Patent ID: 8263384
Filing Date: 2012-09-11
Classification: A61P,C12N,C12P

Abstract:
1. A bacterium capable of producing thymidine when grown in a culture medium, the bacterium comprising one or more genetic modifications to its DNA, or some extra-chromosomal DNA necessary for its growth, characterized in that the bacterium comprises one or more genetic modifications which result in the thymidine biosynthetic pathway preferentially producing TdR at the expense of UdR as a consequence of one or more genetic modifications which increases the availability of a single carbon unit to dUMP for conversion to dTMP, wherein at least one genetic modification comprises introducing a transcriptional unit capable of expressing a dihydrofolate reductase (EC 1.5.1.3) and wherein the bacterium comprises a host strain and at least one construct comprising extra-chromosomal DNA and wherein a host strain gene encoding a nucleoside diphosphate kinase (EC 2.7.4.6) of the bacterium has been knocked out or otherwise inactivated or excised.