The foundations of the ASE platform were built to attain a strain of yeast that could produce 25 g/L of the terpene Artemisinic acid for the production of low-cost and abundant Artemisinin, an anti-malarial drug. Having achieved those goals and begun commercialization and manufacturing of artemisinin, we now describe the use of this platform to produce fuel molecules, lubricants, emollients and fragrances. This talk will touch on the production of each of these molecules, which are terpenes or derivatives of terpenes. In particular, we will focus on the production and use of farnesene and it’s derivative Squalane, a terpene that has been used as a lubricant for fighter planes as well as an emollient for skin therapeutics. Squalane has traditionally been sourced from the livers of Squalus genus of dogfish sharks and the fishing of these sharks for such uses has led to their precipitous decline. Alternative sources were investigated deeply when Europe banned the use of Squalane obtained from sharks. Asia continues to use sharks as a source of squalane. Synthetic biology presents an attractive alternative to shark sources of squalene and has been the first ‘for-profit’ product sold by Amyris, as Artemisinin remains an entirely non-profit product.
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