Microbial Biosynthesis of Lactones: Gaps and Opportunities towards Sustainable Production

Lactones are volatile organic compounds widely present in foods. These chemicals are applied as flavors and fragrances in the food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries. Recently, the potential of lactones as green solvents and fuel precursors reinforced their role as platform compounds of future...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied sciences 2021-09, Vol.11 (18), p.8500
Main Authors: Silva, Rui, Coelho, Eduardo, Aguiar, Tatiana Q., Domingues, Lucília
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biodiesel fuels
Biosynthesis
Biotransformation
Carbohydrates
Chemical synthesis
Cosmetics
de novo biosynthesis
Fatty acids
flavors
Food industry
Food products
fragrances
Fruits
Knowledge acquisition
Lactones
Lipids
metabolic engineering
microbial production
Microorganisms
Organic compounds
Pharmaceutical industry
Polymers
Strawberries
Substrates
Sustainability
Sustainable production
VOCs
Volatile organic compounds
Yeasts
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Summary:Lactones are volatile organic compounds widely present in foods. These chemicals are applied as flavors and fragrances in the food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries. Recently, the potential of lactones as green solvents and fuel precursors reinforced their role as platform compounds of future bio-based economies. However, their current mode of production needs to change. Lactones are mainly obtained through chemical synthesis or microbial biotransformation of hydroxy fatty acids. The latter approach is preferred but still needs to use more sustainable substrates. Hydroxy fatty acids are non-abundant and non-sustainable substrates from environmental, health and economic points of view. Therefore, it is urgent to identify and engineer microorganisms with the rare ability to biosynthesize lactones from carbohydrates or renewable lipids. Here, we firstly address the variety and importance of lactones. Then, the current understanding of the biosynthetic pathways involved in lactone biosynthesis is presented, making use of the knowledge acquired in microorganisms and fruits. From there, we present and make the distinction between biotransformation processes and de novo biosynthesis of lactones. Finally, the opportunities and challenges towards more sustainable production in addition to the relevance of two well-known industrial microbes, the filamentous fungus Ashbya gossypii and the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica, are discussed.
ISSN:2076-3417
2076-3417
DOI:10.3390/app11188500