title: Wax esters of different compositions produced via engineering of leaf chloroplast metabolism in Nicotiana benthamiana.
abstract: In a future bio-based economy, renewable sources for lipid compounds at attractive cost are needed for applications where today petrochemical derivatives are dominating. Wax esters and fatty alcohols provide diverse industrial uses, such as in lubricant and surfactant production. In this study, chloroplast metabolism was engineered to divert intermediates from de novo fatty acid biosynthesis to wax ester synthesis. To accomplish this, chloroplast targeted fatty acyl reductases (FAR) and wax ester synthases (WS) were transiently expressed in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves. Wax esters of different qualities and quantities were produced providing insights to the properties and interaction of the individual enzymes used. In particular, a phytyl ester synthase was found to be a premium candidate for medium chain wax ester synthesis. Catalytic activities of FAR and WS were also expressed as a fusion protein and determined functionally equivalent to the expression of individual enzymes for wax ester synthesis in chloroplasts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Biology, Uppsala BioCenter, Linnean Centre for Plant Biology, Swedish University of Agricultural Science, Uppsala, Sweden. Electronic address: selcuk.aslan@slu.se.
authors.forename: Selcuk
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aslan
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Biology, Uppsala BioCenter, Linnean Centre for Plant Biology, Swedish University of Agricultural Science, Uppsala, Sweden. Electronic address: chuanxin.sun@slu.se.
authors.forename: Chuanxin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Breeding, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Alnarp, Sweden. Electronic address: svetlana.leonova@slu.se.
authors.forename: Svetlana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Leonova
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science, Uppsala BioCenter, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden. Electronic address: paresh.dutta@slu.se.
authors.forename: Paresh
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dutta
authors.affiliation: Institut für Molekulare Physiologie und Biotechnologie der Planzen, Universität Bonn, Bonn, Germany. Electronic address: doermann@uni-bonn.de.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dörmann
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Biogenèse Membranaire, CNRS UMR 5200, Université Bordeaux Ségalen, Bordeaux, France. Electronic address: frederic.domergue@biomemb.u-bordeaux2.fr.
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Domergue
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Breeding, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Alnarp, Sweden. Electronic address: sten.stymne@slu.se.
authors.forename: Sten
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Stymne
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Breeding, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Alnarp, Sweden. Electronic address: per.hofvander@slu.se.
authors.forename: Per
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hofvander
mesh_terms: D000445:Aldehyde Oxidoreductases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D002736:Chloroplasts / Q000502:physiology*; D004952:Esters; D060847:Metabolic Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000502:physiology*; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified / Q000502:physiology; D006180:Proton-Translocating ATPases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014026:Nicotiana / Q000502:physiology*; D014885:Waxes / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D004952:Esters; D014885:Waxes; D000445:Aldehyde Oxidoreductases; D006180:Proton-Translocating ATPases
keywords: Chloroplast; Fatty acyl reductase; Fatty alcohol; Nicotiana benthamiana; Wax ester; Wax ester synthase