Improving Lipid Production of <i>Yarrowia lipolytica</i> by the Aldehyde Dehydrogenase-Mediated Furfural Detoxification

<i>Yarrowia lipolytica</i>, the non-conventional yeast capable of high lipogenesis, is a microbial chassis for producing lipid-based biofuels and chemicals from renewable resources such as lignocellulosic biomass. However, the low tolerance of <i>Y. lipolytica</i> against fur...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jiwon Kim, Hyeoncheol Francis Son, Sungmin Hwang, Gyeongtaek Gong, Ja Kyong Ko, Youngsoon Um, Sung Ok Han, Sun-Mi Lee
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-04-01
Series:International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/23/9/4761
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Summary:<i>Yarrowia lipolytica</i>, the non-conventional yeast capable of high lipogenesis, is a microbial chassis for producing lipid-based biofuels and chemicals from renewable resources such as lignocellulosic biomass. However, the low tolerance of <i>Y. lipolytica</i> against furfural, a major inhibitory furan aldehyde derived from the pretreatment processes of lignocellulosic biomass, has restricted the efficient conversion of lignocellulosic hydrolysates. In this study, the furfural tolerance of <i>Y. lipolytica</i> has been improved by supporting its endogenous detoxification mechanism. Specifically, the endogenous genes encoding the aldehyde dehydrogenase family proteins were overexpressed in <i>Y. lipolytica</i> to support the conversion of furfural to furoic acid. Among them, YALI0E15400p (FALDH2) has shown the highest conversion rate of furfural to furoic acid and resulted in two-fold increased cell growth and lipid production in the presence of 0.4 g/L of furfural. To our knowledge, this is the first report to identify the native furfural detoxification mechanism and increase furfural resistance through rational engineering in <i>Y. lipolytica</i>. Overall, these results will improve the potential of <i>Y. lipolytica</i> to produce lipids and other value-added chemicals from a carbon-neutral feedstock of lignocellulosic biomass.
ISSN:1661-6596
1422-0067