An industrial process for producing hydroxyaldehydes efficiently, by
solving the problems of conventional DERA, such as low stability against
aldehydes, low catalytic activity for aldol condensation, and the
difficulty of controlling the number of acetaldehyde molecules to be
condensed, is provided.According to the process, aldol condensation of a
substituted or unsubstituted aliphatic aldehyde compound having 2 to 6
carbon atoms with acetaldehyde is conducted by using
D-2-deoxyribose-5-phosphate aldolase which is highly stable against
aldehydes and has high catalytic activity for aldol condensation, whereby
a hydroxyaldehyde compound having the number of carbon atoms increased by
two or four can be produced.