Enhancement of pipecolic acid production by the expression of multiple lysine cyclodeaminase in the Escherichia coli whole-cell system.

•L-PA is a key chiral precursor for local anesthesia and macrolide antibiotics.•Until now, the titer of biobased pipecolic acid production is relatively low.•Introduction of LCD and systematic optimization improved the L-PA production.•Controlling the copy number of pipA gene was the most critical factor.•The highest titer (93.5 g/L) with 72.4 % conversion was achieved.