Production of fatty acid derived chemicals and fuels in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Fatty acids represent the precursors for a number of industrially relevant molecule classes such as alkanes, alkenes, fatty alcohols and different types of esters including wax esters. These can be applied as biofuels, but also as ingredients in the food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industry. Our aim is to develop sustainable production processes for these compounds through metabolic engineering of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

In contrast to oleaginous yeasts, S. cerevisiae does not naturally accumulate large amounts of lipids. One approach is therefore the development of platform strains. This includes the streamlining of acetyl-CoA and acyl-CoA metabolism for increased precursor supply, but also the generation of strains with changed fatty acid profiles. The second approach is the screening of heterologous enzymes and pathways leading to the formation of the desired products. Different examples will be presented.