Customizing lipids from oleaginous microbes: leveraging exogenous and endogenous approaches

• Published in: Trends in biotechnology (Regular ed.) 2022-04, Vol.40 (4), p.482-508
• Main Authors: Uprety, Bijaya K., Morrison, Erin N., Emery, R.J. Neil, Farrow, Scott C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Algae; Algorithms; Biofuels; Biomass; Biosynthesis; Carbon; Design of experiments; endogenous approach; Enzymes; exogenous approach; Fatty acid composition; Fatty Acids; Fungi; Genetic engineering; Glycerol; Gram-positive bacteria; Industrial engineering; Lipids; Manufacturing engineering; Metabolism; Metabolites; Microorganisms; Oils & fats; oleaginous microbes; Optimization; Productivity; Signal transduction; tailored microbial lipids
• ISSN: 0167-7799; 1879-3096
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2021.09.004

To meet the growing demands of the oleochemical industry, tailored lipid sources are expanding to oleaginous microbes. To control the fatty acid composition of microbial lipids, ground-breaking exogenous and endogenous approaches are being developed. Exogenous approaches employ extracellular tools such as product-specific feedstocks, process optimization, elicitors, and magnetic and mechanical energy, whereas endogenous approaches leverage biology through the use of product-specific microbes, adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE), and the creation of custom strains via random and targeted cellular engineering. We consolidate recent advances from both fields into a review that will serve as a resource for those striving to fulfill the vision of microbial cell factories for tailored lipid production. Approaches targeting the enhanced production of customized lipids in oleaginous microbes can be classified into two major categories: exogenous or endogenous.Exogenous approaches include using product specific feedstocks, process optimization, essential oils, phytohormones, chemical elicitors, and magnetic/mechanical energy. Endogenous approaches include metabolic engineering, random mutagenesis, strain selection, and adaptive laboratory evolution.Classically, production of microbial lipids with specific fatty acid profiles was accomplished using a handful of techniques, but the development of novel and combinatorial approaches is now enhancing the ability to customize microbial lipids.A comprehensive outline of exogenous and endogenous techniques could assist in selecting them to improve tailored lipid production in oleaginous microbes.