Combining metabolic engineering and process optimization to improve production and secretion of fatty acids.
Microbial oils are sustainable alternatives to petroleum for the production of chemicals and fuels. Oleaginous yeasts are promising source of oils and Yarrowia lipolytica is the most studied and engineered one. Nonetheless the commercial production of biolipids is so far limited to high value products due to the elevated production and extraction costs. In order to contribute to overcoming these limitations we exploited the possibility of secreting lipids to the culture broth, uncoupling production and biomass formation and facilitating the extraction. We therefore considered two synthetic approaches, Strategy I where fatty acids are produced by enhancing the flux through neutral lipid formation, as typically occurs in eukaryotic systems and Strategy II where the bacterial system to produce free fatty acids is mimicked. The engineered strains, in a coupled fermentation and extraction process using alkanes, secreted the highest titer of lipids described so far, with a content of 120% of DCW.
Micalis Institute, INRA, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France. Electronic address: rodrigo.ledesma@grignon.inra.fr.
Rodrigo
R
Ledesma-Amaro
Micalis Institute, INRA, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France.
Remi
R
Dulermo
Industrial Biotechnology, Centro de Investigación y Asistencia en Tecnología y Diseño del Estado de Jalisco (CIATEJ), A.C. 44270 Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.
Xochitl
X
Niehus
Micalis Institute, INRA, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France. Electronic address: jean-marc.nicaud@grignon.inra.fr.
Jean-Marc
JM
Nicaud
D053898:Biosynthetic Pathways / Q000235:genetics; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000502:physiology; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D015966:Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal / Q000235:genetics; D024861:Genetic Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D060847:Metabolic Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D064688:Metabolic Flux Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D053858:Metabolic Networks and Pathways / Q000235:genetics; D015854:Up-Regulation / Q000235:genetics; D025062:Yarrowia / Q000502:physiology*
D005227:Fatty Acids
Biodiesel; Free fatty acids; Industrial biotechnology; Lipid secretion; Metabolic engineering; Microbial biotechnology; Microbial oil; Oleaginous yeasts; Oleochemicals; Single cell oil; Synthetic biology; Yarrowia lipolytica