Patent ID: 8735102

Claim:
A recombinant method for producing hyaluronic acid (HA), the method comprising the steps of: obtaining a recombinant host cell capable of producing HA, the recombinant host cell containing a recombinant expression vector comprising a nucleic acid segment encoding an enzymatically active hyaluronan synthase, wherein the enzymatically active hyaluronan synthase is a single protein that is a dual-action catalyst that utilizes UDP-GlcA (uridine diphosphate glucuronic acid) and UDP-GIcNAc (uridine diphosphate N-acetylglucosamine) to synthesize HA, and wherein the nucleic acid segment comprises at least one of: (A) the nucleotide sequence of nucleotides 23-1276 of SEQ ID NO:11; (B) a nucleotide sequence encoding the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:12; and (C) a nucleotide sequence that is at least 90% identical to nucleotides 23-1276 of the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:11; culturing the recombinant host cell under conditions appropriate for the expression of hyaluronan synthase from the at least one expression construct, whereby hyaluronic acid is produced.