Patent ID: 7622282

Claim:
A method for synthesizing an isoprenoid or an isoprenoid precursor via a mevalonate pathway in a host cell, wherein the method comprises: i) culturing a transformed host cell in a suitable medium, wherein the medium comprises DL-mevalonate, wherein the transformed host cell is a prokaryote that does not normally synthesize isopentenyl pyrophosphate (IPP) through the mevalonate pathway, and wherein the host cell comprises one or more nucleic acids heterologous to the host cell, wherein the one or more heterologous nucleic acids comprises nucleotide sequences that encode: (a) a eukaryotic enzyme that phosphorylates mevalonate to mevalonate 5-phosphate; (b) a eukaryotic enzyme that converts mevalonate 5-phosphate to mevalonate 5-pyrophosphate; and (c) a eukaryotic enzyme that converts mevalonate 5-pyrophosphate to IPP, said culturing providing for production of the enzymes, resulting in synthesis of said isoprenoid or isoprenoid precursor in a recoverable amount of at least about 1 mg/L; and ii) recovering the produced isoprenoid or isoprenoid precursor.