6533b7d7fe1ef96bd126838e

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Production of Dicarboxylic Acids and Flagrances by Yarrowia lipolytica

subject

description

Yeasts are excellent biocatalysts in the field of alkane and fatty acids transformation into dicarboxylic acids and lactones. Their ability to produce some diacids through simple, less expensive and more environment friendly routes than chemical pathways and to produce particular diacids (e.g. unsaturated ones) but also to transform natural substrates into lactones with a natural label has made them the subject of many researches. Although Candida species were often first studied, the development of genetic tools, the knowledge of the genome and some genomic and biotechnological particularities of Yarrowia lipolytica resulted to interesting developments with this species. This chapter aims at presenting the family of compounds of interest of this field, the biotechnological strategies usually carried out with yeast biocatalysts and the developments obtained with Y. lipolytica. For dicarboxylic acids, the first complete strategies carried out with Candida sp. will be presented, followed by the works on Yarrowia. For lactones, the work on Yarrowia’s β-oxidation and on the production of γ-decalactone will be particularly detailed. The interactions of amphiphilic fatty acids and lactones with yeast membranes will be also presented as they are of importance for both processes and have not been much investigated in other yeast species.