Method of producing a carnitine-synthesising micro-organism

摘要

The invention discloses a method of producing a micro-organism that can biosynthesise carnitine from a non-carnitine synthesising micro-organism, the method including the step of transforming the non-carnitine synthesising micro-organism with a nucleotide sequence encoding ?-butyrobetaine hydroxylase (BBH). The transformed micro-organism is capable of producing carnitine when cultured in the presence of gamma-butyrobetaine. A method of identifying a carnitine-producing micro-organism is also disclosed, the method including the steps of applying a micro-organism to a synthetic agar medium which does not contain carnitine and is coated with a layer of Saccharomyces cerevisiae ?cit2 strain; culturing the micro-organism; and detecting the presence of a zone in the agar medium formed by carnitine-producing micro-organisms. The transformed micro-organism may be used to enhance the nutritional value of foods and beverages, such as bread and beer.