Oleaginous yeast transcriptomics
Oleaginous and flavinogenic yeasts are of biotechnological interest because they can produce a number of important fatty-acid derived molecules, termed oleochemicals, and nutritional additives. The most well-known and well-developed is the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica. Lesser known, but gaining interest, are the yeasts in the CTG clade genus Debaryomyces. Debaryomyces yeasts have more robust growth on pentoses and can tolerate extremely salty media. To elucidate the unique and shared biology between these yeasts, their genomes and gene expression responses to stress can be compared. The focus of this work were the biotechnologically relevant stresses of nitrogen starvation, iron starvation, and salt stress.