title: A newly identified fatty alcohol oxidase gene is mainly responsible for the oxidation of long-chain ω-hydroxy fatty acids in Yarrowia lipolytica.
abstract: Nine potential (fatty) alcohol dehydrogenase genes and one alcohol oxidase gene were identified in Yarrowia lipolytica by comparative sequence analysis. All relevant genes were deleted in Y. lipolytica H222ΔP which is lacking β-oxidation. Resulting transformants were tested for their ability to accumulate ω-hydroxy fatty acids and dicarboxylic acids in the culture medium. The deletion of eight alcohol dehydrogenase genes (FADH, ADH1-7), which may be involved in ω-oxidation, led only to a slightly increased accumulation of ω-hydroxy fatty acids, whereas the deletion of the fatty alcohol oxidase gene (FAO1), which has not been described yet in Y. lipolytica, exhibited a considerably higher effect. The combined deletion of the eight (fatty) alcohol dehydrogenase genes and the alcohol oxidase gene further reduced the formation of dicarboxylic acids. These results indicate that both (fatty) alcohol dehydrogenases and an alcohol oxidase are involved in ω-oxidation of long-chain fatty acids whereby latter plays the major role. This insight marks the first step toward the biotechnological production of long-chain ω-hydroxy fatty acids with the help of the nonconventional yeast Y. lipolytica. The overexpression of FAO1 can be further used to improve existing strains for the production of dicarboxylic acids.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology, Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gatter
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Förster
authors.forename: Kati
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bär
authors.forename: Miriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Winter
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Otto
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Petzsch
authors.forename: Michaela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ježková
authors.forename: Katrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bahr
authors.forename: Melanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pfeiffer
authors.forename: Falk
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Matthäus
authors.forename: Gerold
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Barth
mesh_terms: D000426:Alcohol Dehydrogenase / Q000235:genetics; D000429:Alcohol Oxidoreductases / Q000235:genetics*; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D017353:Gene Deletion; D015966:Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D025062:Yarrowia / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D005227:Fatty Acids; D000429:Alcohol Oxidoreductases; D000426:Alcohol Dehydrogenase; C019643:alcohol oxidase
keywords: FAO; Yarrowia lipolytica; alcohol dehydrogenase; alcohol oxidase; dicarboxylic acid; ω-hydroxy fatty acid; ω-oxidation