J PROFMULAAFRANCIS. "
The .". In:
Microbial Biotechnology. 1751-7915. Plant Molecular Biology Reporter Vol. 27, pp. 79-85.; 2011.
AbstractThe oleochemical industry is currently still dominatedby conventional chemistry, with biotechnology onlystarting to play a more prominent role, primarily withrespect to the biosurfactants or lipases, e.g. as detergents,or for biofuel production. A major bottleneckfor all further biotechnological applications is theproblem of the initial mobilization of cheap and vastlyavailable lipid and oil substrates, which are thento be transformed into high-value biotechnological,nutritional or pharmacological products. Under theEU-sponsored LipoYeasts project we are developingthe oleaginous yeast Yarrowia lipolytica into a versatileand high-throughput microbial factory that, byuse of specific enzymatic pathways from hydrocarbonoclasticbacteria, efficiently mobilizes lipidsby directing its versatile lipid metabolism towardsthe production of industrially valuable lipid-derivedcompounds like wax esters (WE), isoprenoid-derivedcompounds (carotenoids, polyenic carotenoid ester),polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) and free hydroxylatedfatty acids (HFAs). Different lipid stocks (petroleum,alkane, vegetable oil, fatty acid) and combinationsthereof are being assessed as substrates in combinationwith different mutant and recombinant strains ofY. lipolytica, in order to modulate the composition andyields of the produced added-value products.