Biosynthesis of Monomers for Plastics from Renewable Oils
Abstract
Omega-hydroxyfatty acids are excellent monomers for synthesizing a unique family of polyethylene-like biobased plastics. However, ω-hydroxyfatty acids are difficult and expensive to prepare by traditional organic synthesis, precluding their use in commodity materials. Here we report the engineering of a strain of the diploid yeast Candida tropicalis to produce commercially viable yields of ω-hydroxyfatty acids. To develop the strain we identified and eliminated 16 genes encoding 6 cytochrome P450s, 4 fatty alcohol oxidases, and 6 alcohol dehydrogenases from the C. tropicalis genome. We also show that fatty acids with different chain lengths and degrees of unsaturation can be more efficiently oxidized by expressing different P450s within this strain background. Biocatalysis using engineered C. tropicalis is thus a potentially attractive biocatalytic platform for producing commodity chemicals from renewable resources.
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Recent advances in synthetic biology have enabled the microbial production of monomers, including lactones, from inexpensive renewable starting materials.
“Recent advances in synthetic biology have enabled the microbial production of monomers, including lactones, from inexpensive renewable starting materials.”
From Aliphatic Polyester Block Polymer Design (2016) · cites this paper as [24]
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- Authors
- Lu, W., Ness, J. E., Xie, W., Zhang, X., Minshull, J., & Gross, R. A.
- Affiliations
- ATUM (United States) (US)
- Corresponding author
- Gross, Richard A.
- Venue
- Journal of the American Chemical Society
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Published
- 2010-10-11
- Volume
- 132
- Issue
- 43
- Pages
- 15451-15455
- ISSN
- 0002-7863 (ISSN-L)
- 1520-5126
- OpenAlex
- W2041147269
- Cited by
- 212
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 18 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 21 · 2015: 16 · 2014: 18 · 2013: 18 · 2012: 17
- FWCI
- 5.98
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of the American Chemical Society (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Microbial Metabolic Engineering and Bioproduction
- Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Biomaterials › biodegradable polymer synthesis and properties
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Biotechnology › Biochemical and biochemical processes
- Keywords
- bioplastics, Candida tropicalis, yeast strain engineering, cytochrome P450, alcohol dehydrogenase, fatty acid oxidation, biocatalysis, commodity chemicals
- MeSH terms
- Biotransformation, Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System, Fatty Acids, Fermentation, Genetic Engineering, Myristic Acids, Oils, Oxidation-Reduction, Plastics, Gene Deletion, Myristic Acid, Candida tropicalis
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