Cupriavidus necator as flexible platform organism for trehalose production

Cupriavidus necator has emerged as a highly adaptable microbial chassis for sustainable bioproduction. In this study, we explore its potential as a flexible platform organism for trehalose production under heterotrophic, autotrophic, and formatotrophic conditions. Heterotrophic cultivation yielded the highest trehalose concentration of 7.2 g L⁻¹, demonstrating the organism’s efficiency when utilizing organic carbon sources. Autotrophic production, which relies solely on CO₂, achieved a trehalose concentration of 2.3 g L⁻¹, reflecting the limitations of carbon fixation pathways. Formatotrophic cultivation, using formate as a carbon and energy source, significantly improved by co feeding hydrogen resulting a doubled trehalose concentration. Compared with previously reported benchmarks, this study achieved a 15-fold increase in trehalose production, emphasizing the metabolic versatility of C. necator and its promise for scalable, carbon-efficient biomanufacturing.