Engineering industrial fatty acids in oilseeds

More than 300 types of modified fatty acids (mFA) are produced in triacylglycerols (TAG) by various plant species, with many of these unusual structures rendering unique physical and chemical properties that are desirable for a variety of bio-based industrial uses. Attempts to produce these mFA in crop species have thus far failed to reach the desired levels of production and highlighted the need to better understand how fatty acids are synthesized and accumulated in seed oils. In this review we discuss how some of the progress made in recent years, such as the improved TAG synthesis model to include acyl editing and new enzymes such as PDCT, may be utilized to achieve the goal of effectively modifying plant oils for industrial uses. Co-expressing several key enzymes may circumvent the bottlenecks for the accumulation of mFA in TAG through efficient removal of mFA from phosphatidylcholine. Other approaches include the prevention of feedback inhibition of fatty acid synthesis and improving primary enzyme activity in host transgenic plants. In addition, genomic approaches are providing unprecedented power to discover more factors that may facilitate engineering mFA in oilseeds. Based on the results of the last 20 years, creating a high mFA accumulating plant will not be done by simply inserting one or two genes; it is necessary to stack genes encoding enzymes with favorable kinetic activity or specificity along with additional complementary transgenes in optimized plant backgrounds to produce industrial fatty acids at desirable levels. Finally, we discuss the potential of Camelina as an industrial oilseed platform.     

Engineering Escherichia coli to produce branched-chain fatty acids in high percentages

Branched-chain fatty acids (BCFAs) are key precursors of branched-chain fuels, which have cold-flow properties superior to straight chain fuels. BCFA production in Gram-negative bacterial hosts is inherently challenging because it competes directly with essential and efficient straight-chain fatty acid (SCFA) biosynthesis. Previously, Escherichia coli strains engineered for BCFA production also co-produced a large percentage of SCFA, complicating efficient isolation of BCFA. Here, we identified a key bottleneck in BCFA production: incomplete lipoylation of 2-oxoacid dehydrogenases. We engineered two protein lipoylation pathways that not only restored 2-oxoacid dehydrogenase lipoylation, but also increased BCFA production dramatically. E. coli expressing an optimized lipoylation pathway produced 276 mg/L BCFA, comprising 85% of the total free fatty acids (FFAs). Furthermore, we fine-tuned BCFA branch positions, yielding strains specifically producing ante-iso or odd-chain iso BCFA as 77% of total FFA, separately. When coupled with an engineered branched-chain amino acid pathway to enrich the branched-chain α-ketoacid pool, BCFA can be produced from glucose at 181 mg/L and 72% of total FFA. While E. coli can metabolize BCFAs, we demonstrated that they are not incorporated into the cell membrane, allowing our system to produce a high percentage of BCFA without affecting membrane fluidity. Overall, this work establishes a platform for high percentage BCFA production, providing the basis for efficient and specific production of a variety of branched-chain hydrocarbons in engineered bacterial hosts.     

Engineering oilseeds for sustainable production of industrial and nutritional feedstocks: solving bottlenecks in fatty acid flux

Oilseeds provide a unique platform for the production of high-value fatty acids that can replace non-sustainable petroleum and oceanic sources of specialty chemicals and aquaculture feed. However, recent efforts to engineer the seeds of crop and model plant species to produce new types of fatty acids, including hydroxy and conjugated fatty acids for industrial uses and long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids for farmed fish feed, have met with only modest success. The collective results from these studies point to metabolic 'bottlenecks' in the engineered plant seeds that substantially limit the efficient or selective flux of unusual fatty acids between different substrate pools and ultimately into storage triacylglycerol. Evidence is emerging that diacylglycerol acyltransferase 2, which catalyzes the final step in triacylglycerol assembly, is an important contributor to the synthesis of unusual fatty acid-containing oils, and is likely to be a key target for future oilseed metabolic engineering efforts.     

Relief for fish stocks: oceanic fatty acids in transgenic oilseeds

Three recent reports (Baoxiu Qi et al., Amine Abbadi et al. and Anthony J. Kinney et al.) describe the production of very long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in transgenic plants. This might lead to a sustainable source of these valuable fatty acids for use in human food and animal feed. At present they are mainly available via consumption of fish, which is a limited and endangered resource.     

Rare fatty acids and lipids in plant oilseeds: occurrence and bioactivity

Phytochemistry Reviews - Lipids are biomolecules which are present in plants as general metabolites with different functions such as structural, protective and also as storage material. Plants...     

Biomarker techniques to screen for bacteria that produce polyunsaturated fatty acids.

The production of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) by bacteria has been firmly established for over two decades although it is still commonly ignored. Investigations of Antarctic sea ice have revealed a high diversity of novel bacterial taxa with the ability to produce PUFA. The majority are psychrophilic (requiring low temperatures for growth) and halophilic (requiring the presence of salts for growth), in contrast to the bacterial community present in the underlying water column. Specific fatty acids may be used as indicators of PUFA-producing bacteria in environmental samples. Structural studies of bacterial phospholipids have been particularly revealing in suggesting biomarkers specific for prokaryotic PUFA input. The use of negative ion fast atom bombardment tandem mass spectrometry for the analysis of bacterial phospholipids has identified species specific for certain groups of bacterial PUFA producers. The phylogeny of PUFA production in the gamma-Proteobacteria also suggests the future use of PUFA genes for the assessment of marine bacterial biodiversity.     

Current perspectives on acidogenic fermentation to produce volatile fatty acids from waste

Reviews in Environmental Science and Bio/Technology - Volatile fatty acids (VFAs) are key platform chemicals used in a multitude of industries including chemicals, pharmaceuticals, food and...     

Diverting phenylpropanoid pathway flux from sinapine to produce industrially useful 4-vinyl derivatives of hydroxycinnamic acids in Brassicaceous oilseeds

Sinapine (sinapoylcholine) is an antinutritive phenolic compound that can account for up to 2% of seed weight in brassicaceous oilseed crops and reduces the suitability of their protein-rich seed meal for use as animal feed. Sinapine biosynthesis draws on hydroxycinnamic acid precursors produced by the phenylpropanoid pathway. The 4-vinyl derivatives of several hydroxycinnamic acids have industrial applications. For example, 4-vinyl phenol (4-hydroxystyrene) is a building block for a range of synthetic polymers applied in resins, inks, elastomers, and coatings. Here we have expressed a modified bacterial phenolic acid decarboxylase (PAD) in developing seed of Camelina sativa to redirect phenylpropanoid pathway flux from sinapine biosynthesis to the production of 4-vinyl phenols. PAD expression led to a ∼95% reduction in sinapine content in seeds of both glasshouse and field grown C. sativa and to an accumulation of 4-vinyl derivatives of hydroxycinnamic acids, primarily as glycosides. The most prevalent aglycone was 4-vinyl phenol, but 4-vinyl guaiacol, 6-hydroxy-4-vinyl guaiacol and 4-vinylsyringol (Canolol) were also detected. The molar quantity of 4-vinyl phenol glycosides was more than twice that of sinapine in wild type seeds. PAD expression was not associated with an adverse effect on seed yield, harvest index, seed morphology, storage oil content or germination in either glasshouse or field experiments. Our data show that expression of PAD in brassicaceous oilseeds can supress sinapine accumulation, diverting phenylpropanoid pathway flux into 4-vinyl phenol derivatives, thereby also providing a non-petrochemical source of this class of industrial chemicals.     

Yarrowia lipolytica as a biotechnological chassis to produce usual and unusual fatty acids

One of the most promising alternatives to petroleum for the production of fuels and chemicals is bio-oil based chemistry. Microbial oils are gaining importance because they can be engineered to accumulate lipids enriched in desired fatty acids. These specific lipids are closer to the commercialized product, therefore reducing pollutants and costly chemical steps. Yarrowia lipolytica is the most widely studied and engineered oleaginous yeast. Different molecular and bioinformatics tools permit systems metabolic engineering strategies in this yeast, which can produce usual and unusual fatty acids. Usual fatty acids, those usually found in triacylglycerol, accumulate through the action of several pathways, such as fatty acid/triacylglycerol synthesis, transport and degradation. Unusual fatty acids are enzymatic modifications of usual fatty acids to produce compounds that are not naturally synthetized in the host. Recently, the metabolic engineering of microorganisms has produced different unusual fatty acids, such as building block ricinoleic acid and nutraceuticals such as conjugated linoleic acid or polyunsaturated fatty acids. Additionally, microbial sources are preferred hosts for the production of fatty acid-derived compounds such as γ-decalactone, hexanal and dicarboxylic acids. The variety of lipids produced by oleaginous microorganisms is expected to rise in the coming years to cope with the increasing demand.     

Engineering Escherichia coli to convert acetic acid to free fatty acids

Fatty acids (FAs) are promising precursors of advanced biofuels. This study investigated conversion of acetic acid (HAc) to FAs by an engineered Escherichia coli strain. We combined established genetic engineering strategies including overexpression of acs and tesA genes, and knockout of fadE in E. coli BL21, resulting in the production of ~1 g/L FAs from acetic acid. The microbial conversion of HAc to FAs was achieved with ~20% of the theoretical yield. We cultured the engineered strain with HAc-rich liquid wastes, which yielded ~0.43 g/L FAs using waste streams from dilute acid hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass and ~0.17 g/L FAs using effluent from anaerobic-digested sewage sludge. ¹³C-isotopic experiments showed that the metabolism in our engineered strain had high carbon fluxes toward FAs synthesis and TCA cycle in a complex HAc medium. This proof-of-concept work demonstrates the possibility for coupling the waste treatment with the biosynthesis of advanced biofuel via genetically engineered microbial species.     

Biosynthesis of very-long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in transgenic oilseeds: constraints on their accumulation

Omega6- and omega3-polyunsaturated C20 fatty acids represent important components of the human diet. A more regular consumption and an accordingly sustainable source of these compounds are highly desirable. In contrast with the very high levels to which industrial fatty acids have to be enriched in plant oils for competitive use as chemical feedstocks, much lower percentages of very-long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (VLCPUFA) in edible plant oils would satisfy nutritional requirements. Seed-specific expression in transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) and linseed (Linum usitatissimum) of cDNAs encoding fatty acyl-desaturases and elongases, absent from all agronomically important plants, resulted in the very high accumulation of Delta6-desaturated C18 fatty acids and up to 5% of C20 polyunsaturated fatty acids, including arachidonic and eicosapentaenoic acid. Detailed lipid analyses of developing seeds from transgenic plants were interpretated as indicating that, after desaturation on phosphatidylcholine, Delta6-desaturated products are immediately channeled to the triacylglycerols and effectively bypass the acyl-CoA pool. Thus, the lack of available Delta6-desaturated acyl-CoA substrates in the acyl-CoA pool limits the synthesis of elongated C20 fatty acids and disrupts the alternating sequence of lipid-linked desaturations and acyl-CoA dependent elongations. As well as the successful production of VLCPUFA in transgenic oilseeds and the identification of constraints on their accumulation, our results indicate alternative strategies to circumvent this bottleneck.     

Stepwise engineering to produce high yields of very long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in plants

Very long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (VLCPUFAs) such as arachidonic acid (AA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are valuable commodities that provide important human health benefits. We report the transgenic production of significant amounts of AA and EPA in Brassica juncea seeds via a stepwise metabolic engineering strategy. Using a series of transformations with increasing numbers of transgenes, we demonstrate the incremental production of VLCPUFAs, achieving AA levels of up to 25% and EPA levels of up to 15% of total seed fatty acids. Both fatty acids were almost exclusively found in triacylglycerols, with AA located preferentially at sn-2 and sn-3 positions and EPA distributed almost equally at all three positions. Moreover, we reconstituted the DHA biosynthetic pathway in plant seeds, demonstrating the practical feasibility of large-scale production of this important omega-3 fatty acid in oilseed crops.     

Engineering microbes to produce biofuels

The current biofuels landscape is chaotic. It is controlled by the rules imposed by economic forces and driven by the necessity of finding new sources of energy, particularly motor fuels. The need is bringing forth great creativity in uncovering new candidate fuel molecules that can be made via metabolic engineering. These next generation fuels include long-chain alcohols, terpenoid hydrocarbons, and diesel-length alkanes. Renewable fuels contain carbon derived from carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide is derived directly by a photosynthetic fuel-producing organism(s) or via intermediary biomass polymers that were previously derived from carbon dioxide. To use the latter economically, biomass depolymerization processes must improve and this is a very active area of research. There are competitive approaches with some groups using enzyme based methods and others using chemical catalysts. With the former, feedstock and end-product toxicity loom as major problems. Advances chiefly rest on the ability to manipulate biological systems. Computational and modular construction approaches are key. For example, novel metabolic networks have been constructed to make long-chain alcohols and hydrocarbons that have superior fuel properties over ethanol. A particularly exciting approach is to implement a direct utilization of solar energy to make a usable fuel. A number of approaches use the components of current biological systems, but re-engineer them for more direct, efficient production of fuels.     

Use of raw glycerol to produce oil rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids by a thraustochytrid

Glucose is the typical carbon source for producing microbial polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) with single cell microorganisms such as thraustochytrids. We assessed the use of a fish oil derived glycerol by-product (raw glycerol), produced by a fish oil processing plant, as a carbon source to produce single cell oil rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), notably docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). These results were compared to those obtained when using analytical grade glycerol, and glucose. The thraustochytrid strain tested produced similar amounts of oil and PUFA when grown with both types of glycerol, and results were also similar to those obtained using glucose. After 6 days of fermentation, approximately 320 mg/g of oil, and 145 mg/g of PUFA were produced with all carbon sources tested. All oils produced by our strain were 99.95% in the triacylglycerol form. To date, this is the first report of using raw glycerol derived from fish oil for producing microbial triglyceride oil rich in PUFA.     

解脂耶罗维亚酵母工程菌合成超长链脂肪酸及温度的影响

[背景]解脂耶罗维亚酵母属于产油微生物,大量研究表明该酵母能够高产长链脂肪酸和油脂,但是应用该酵母合成超长链脂肪酸仍待研究。[目的]工程化解脂耶罗维亚酵母合成高值超长链脂肪酸,并研究温度对脂肪酸合成的影响。[方法]合成密码子优化的拟南芥(Arabidopsis thaliana)延长酶基因AtFAE1、非洲芥菜(Brassica tournefortii)延长酶基因BtFAE1和碎米芥属植物Cardamine graeca的延长酶基因CgKCS,分别构建质粒pYLEX1-AtFAE1、pYLEX1-BtFAE1、pYLEX1-CgKCS和pYLEX1-AtFAE1-BtFAE1-CgKCS。以解脂耶罗维亚酵母菌株Po1g为宿主,通过化学法分别转化上述4个质粒,获得工程菌Po1g-AtFAE1、Po1g-BtFAE1、Po1g-CgKCS和Po1g-AtFAE1-BtFAE1-CgKCS,比较评价超长链脂肪酸的合成。在此基础上,过表达内源二酯酰甘油酰基转移酶基因DGAT1(diacylglycerol acyltransferase)提高产油量,并研究温度对生物量、产油、脂肪酸组成的影响...     

Generation of fad2 transgenic mice that produce omega-6 fatty acids

Fatty acid desaturase-2 (FAD2) introduces a double bond in position Δ12 in oleic acid (18︰1) to form linoleic acid (18︰2 n-6) in higher plants and microbes. A new transgenic expression cassette, containing CMV promoter/fad2 cDNA/SV40 polyA, was constructedto produce transgenic mice. Among 63 healthy offspring, 10 founders (15.9%) integrated the cotton fad2 transgene into their genomes, as demonstrated by PCR and Southern blotting analysis. All founder mice were fertile and heterozygous fad2 female and nontransgenic littermates were used for fatty acid analysis using gas chromatography. One fad2 transgenic line showed substantial differences in the fatty acid profiles and the level of linoleic acid was increased 19% (P<0.05) in transgenic muscles compared to their nontransgenic littermates. Moreover, it exhibited an 87% and a 9% increase (P<0.05) in arachidonic acid (20︰4 n-6) in muscles and liver, compared to their nontransgenic littermates. The results indicate that the plant fad2 gene can be functionally expressed in transgenic mice and may playan active role in conversion of oleic acid into linoleic acid.