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Engineering Yarrowia lipolytica for the production of cyclopropanated fatty acids

  • Bioenergy/Biofuels/Biochemicals - Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology

Abstract

Traditional synthesis of biodiesel competes with food sources and has limitations with storage, particularly due to limited oxidative stability. Microbial synthesis of lipids provides a platform to produce renewable fuel with improved properties from various renewable carbon sources. Specifically, biodiesel properties can be improved through the introduction of a cyclopropane ring in place of a double bond. In this study, we demonstrate the production of C19 cyclopropanated fatty acids in the oleaginous yeast Yarrowia lipolytica through the heterologous expression of the Escherichia coli cyclopropane fatty acid synthase. Ultimately, we establish a strain capable of 3.03 ± 0.26 g/L C19 cyclopropanated fatty acid production in bioreactor fermentation where this functionalized lipid comprises over 32% of the total lipid pool. This study provides a demonstration of the flexibility of lipid metabolism in Y. lipolytica to produce specialized fatty acids.

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded through the Office of Naval Research (ONR) under grant N00014-15-1-2785 and the Welch Foundation under grant F-1753. The authors acknowledge Andrew Hill for his initial work on CFA synthase enzymes in Yarrowia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, 200 E Dean Keeton St. Stop C0400, Austin, TX, 78712, USA

    Kelly A. Markham & Hal S. Alper

  2. Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, 2500 Speedway Avenue, Austin, TX, 78712, USA

    Hal S. Alper

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  1. Kelly A. Markham
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Correspondence to Hal S. Alper.

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Markham, K.A., Alper, H.S. Engineering Yarrowia lipolytica for the production of cyclopropanated fatty acids. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol 45, 881–888 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10295-018-2067-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10295-018-2067-8

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