Industrial Production of Tryptophan

The use of supplemental amino acids to reduce the use of traditional protein supplements in animal feeds has been increasingly recognized as a feasible way to improve the sustainability of modern animal agriculture. It is of great importance to improve the industrial-scale production efficiency of feed-grade supplemental amino acids in animal agriculture. L-Tryptophan (L-Trp) is one of the major essential and limiting amino acids for animals, and its nutritional and physiological roles in animal agriculture have been well documented, whereas the high cost of using L-Trp in feeds brings challenges in animal agriculture. This chapter summarizes the current knowledge and method of industrial production of tryptophan by introducing the biosynthesis of L-Trp and improvement of L-Trp productivity, as well as the optimization of bacteria-based fermentation strategy to reduce the cost of L-Trp production for animal agriculture.