IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcom/v11y2020i1d10.1038_s41467-020-19995-0.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Synthesis of high-titer alka(e)nes in Yarrowia lipolytica is enabled by a discovered mechanism

Author

Listed:
  • Jingbo Li

    (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

  • Yongshuo Ma

    (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

  • Nian Liu

    (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

  • Bekir E. Eser

    (Aarhus University)

  • Zheng Guo

    (Aarhus University)

  • Peter Ruhdal Jensen

    (Technical University of Denmark)

  • Gregory Stephanopoulos

    (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Abstract

Alka(e)nes are ideal fuel components for aviation, long-distance transport, and shipping. They are typically derived from fossil fuels and accounting for 24% of difficult-to-eliminate greenhouse gas emissions. The synthesis of alka(e)nes in Yarrowia lipolytica from CO2-neutral feedstocks represents an attractive alternative. Here we report that the high-titer synthesis of alka(e)nes in Yarrowia lipolytica harboring a fatty acid photodecarboxylase (CvFAP) is enabled by a discovered pathway. We find that acyl-CoAs, rather than free fatty acids (FFAs), are the preferred substrate for CvFAP. This finding allows us to debottleneck the pathway and optimize fermentation conditions so that we are able to redirect 89% of acyl-CoAs from the synthesis of neutral lipids to alka(e)nes and reach titers of 1.47 g/L from glucose. Two other CO2-derived substrates, wheat straw and acetate, are also demonstrated to be effective in producing alka(e)nes. Overall, our technology could advance net-zero emissions by providing CO2-neutral and energy-dense liquid biofuels.

Suggested Citation

  • Jingbo Li & Yongshuo Ma & Nian Liu & Bekir E. Eser & Zheng Guo & Peter Ruhdal Jensen & Gregory Stephanopoulos, 2020. "Synthesis of high-titer alka(e)nes in Yarrowia lipolytica is enabled by a discovered mechanism," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 11(1), pages 1-13, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:11:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-020-19995-0
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-19995-0
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-19995-0
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/s41467-020-19995-0?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:11:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-020-19995-0. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.