Biotech Updates

Researchers Engineer Yarrowia lipolytica for Limonene Overproduction

October 19, 2016
http://biotechnologyforbiofuels.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13068-016-0626-7

Limonene is known as an important precursor of flavoring, pharmaceutical, and biodiesel products. Currently, d-limonene is produced via fractionation from essential oils or as a byproduct of orange juice production. However, other methods more efficient methods should be explored due to the increase demand for limonene.

To construct the limonene pathway in Yarrowia lipolytica, Xuan Cao and a team of researchers from East China University of Science and Technology expressed two genes, neryl diphosphate synthase 1 (NDPS1) and limonene synthase (LS) in Y. lipolytica. To maximize limonene production, several genes involved in the MVA pathway were also overexpressed. By optimizing the pyruvic acid and dodecane concentration in a flask culture, the team achieved a maximum limonene titer in the final engineered strain Po1f-LN-051, exhibiting an approximately 226-fold increase in limonene yield.

This study is the first report on limonene synthesis in Y. lipolytica by expression of tLS and tNDPS1 genes. The study also demonstrates that Y. lipolytica can be a platform for the overproduction of limonene and other monoterpenes.