Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA.
Department of Engineering, Aarhus University, Gustav Wieds Vej 10, Aarhus, 8000, Denmark.
Nat Commun. 2020 Dec 3;11(1):6198. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-19995-0.
Alka(e)nes are ideal fuel components for aviation, long-distance transport, and shipping. They are typically derived from fossil fuels and accounting for 24% of difficult-to-eliminate greenhouse gas emissions. The synthesis of alka(e)nes in Yarrowia lipolytica from CO-neutral feedstocks represents an attractive alternative. Here we report that the high-titer synthesis of alka(e)nes in Yarrowia lipolytica harboring a fatty acid photodecarboxylase (CvFAP) is enabled by a discovered pathway. We find that acyl-CoAs, rather than free fatty acids (FFAs), are the preferred substrate for CvFAP. This finding allows us to debottleneck the pathway and optimize fermentation conditions so that we are able to redirect 89% of acyl-CoAs from the synthesis of neutral lipids to alka(e)nes and reach titers of 1.47 g/L from glucose. Two other CO-derived substrates, wheat straw and acetate, are also demonstrated to be effective in producing alka(e)nes. Overall, our technology could advance net-zero emissions by providing CO-neutral and energy-dense liquid biofuels.
链烷烃是航空、长途运输和航运的理想燃料成分。它们通常来自化石燃料，占难以消除的温室气体排放的 24%。从 CO 中性原料中在解脂耶氏酵母中合成链烷烃代表了一种有吸引力的替代方法。在这里，我们报告了在含有脂肪酸光脱羧酶 (CvFAP) 的解脂耶氏酵母中，通过发现的途径可以高浓度合成链烷烃。我们发现酰基辅酶 A，而不是游离脂肪酸 (FFA)，是 CvFAP 的首选底物。这一发现使我们能够消除途径中的瓶颈并优化发酵条件，从而能够将 89%的酰基辅酶 A 从中性脂质的合成中重新定向到链烷烃中，并从葡萄糖中达到 1.47 g/L 的浓度。还证明了另外两种 CO 衍生的底物，小麦秸秆和醋酸盐，在生产链烷烃方面也很有效。总的来说，我们的技术可以通过提供 CO 中性和能量密集型液体生物燃料来推进净零排放。
