Patent ID: 8900837

Claim:
A method for the fermentative production of 2-hydroxyisobutyric acid (2-HIBA) by conversion of a simple source of carbon into 2-HIBA comprising the steps of: culturing a microorganism modified for an improved production of 2-hydroxyisobutyric acid, wherein said microorganism expresses the genes coding for the enzymes having the enzymatic activities necessary for the following conversions a) converting acetyl-CoA into 3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA, b) converting 3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA previously obtained into 2-hydroxyisobutyryl-CoA, and c) converting 2-hydroxyisobutyryl-CoA into 2-hydroxyisobutyric acid in an appropriate culture medium comprising a simple source of carbon, and recovering the 2-hydroxyisobutyric acid (2-HIBA) from the culture medium.