Review
Engineering, Chemical
Kirti Chawla, Sumandeep Kaur, Ranjeet Kaur, Rupam Kumar Bhunia
Summary: The perpetual increase in global population has led to a sharp hike in per capita consumption of vegetable oils. To meet the demands, scientists have developed sustainable alternative sources of fuel using oleaginous yeasts that can produce lipids similar to vegetable oils. Genetically enhanced production of single cell oil (SCO) from yeast could serve as a promising platform for oil production, helping to prevent the competition between food and fuel production.
JOURNAL OF FOOD PROCESS ENGINEERING
(2022)
Review
Agricultural Engineering
Le Zhang, Jonathan T. E. Lee, Yong Sik Ok, Yanjun Dai, Yen Wah Tong
Summary: This review critically examines the enhanced production of microbial lipids suitable for biodiesel manufacturing from oleaginous yeast Lipomyces starkeyi. It analyzes recent advances in lipids biosynthetic pathways, conversion efficiencies, intensification strategies, and extraction approaches. Key findings on strategies are summarized, and research suggestions for metabolic engineering are proposed.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Paola Monteiro de Oliveira, Daria Aborneva, Nemailla Bonturi, Petri-Jaan Lahtvee
Summary: Lignocellulosic biomass is an attractive raw material for sustainable production of chemicals and materials using microbial cell factories. Non-conventional yeasts, such as R. toruloides CCT 7815, show promise in efficiently converting a wide range of substrates into different products, with high tolerance to inhibitors, making them suitable for biorefinery processes. In this study, different non-conventional yeast strains were screened on diluted hemicellulosic hydrolysate from Birch, and R. toruloides CCT 7815 demonstrated the best performance among all tested strains, showing high specific growth and substrate co-consumption rates under high hydrolysate conditions.
FRONTIERS IN BIOENGINEERING AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Ziyu Dai, Kyle R. Pomraning, Ellen A. Panisko, Beth A. Hofstad, Kristen B. Campbell, Joonhoon Kim, Ana L. Robles, Shuang Deng, Jon K. Magnuson
Summary: The research demonstrates the production of high levels of alpha-zingiberene in oleaginous yeast through transgenic methods, with further improvements possible through optimization of growth media. This study opens up a new synthetic route for the production of alpha-zingiberene in Lipomyces starkeyi and establishes this yeast as a platform for jet fuel biosynthesis.
ACS SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Man Zhao, Yanan Wang, Wenting Zhou, Wei Zhou, Zhiwei Gong
Summary: Microbial lipid production from low-cost substrates by oleaginous yeasts, such as crude glycerol, shows great potential for commercial success in biodiesel production. The supplementation of additional nutrients and the co-valorization of crude glycerol and other low-cost substrates have been emphasized as strategies to achieve high lipid production. Furthermore, the co-fermentation of glycerol and lignocellulosic sugars has shown synergistic effects for lipogenesis. Integration of crude glycerol-based pretreatment and glycerol/lignocellulosic hydrolysates co-utilization can lead to the development of a novel biodiesel industry. The produced lipids exhibit similar profiles to vegetable oils and possess high-quality biodiesel properties, offering both economic and environmental benefits.
RENEWABLE & SUSTAINABLE ENERGY REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Liting Lyu, Yadong Chu, Sufang Zhang, Yue Zhang, Qitian Huang, Shuang Wang, Zongbao K. Zhao
Summary: Researchers have developed engineered strains of Rhodosporidium toruloides by overexpressing genes responsible for phenolic compound degradation, leading to improved resistance to typical phenolic inhibitors and increased lipid production and cell growth in concentrated mode biomass hydrolysates.
FRONTIERS IN BIOENGINEERING AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Sujit Sadashiv Jagtap, Anshu Deewan, Jing-Jing Liu, Hanna E. Walukiewicz, Eun Ju Yun, Yong-Su Jin, Christopher V. Rao
Summary: This study investigated the central carbon metabolism in Rhodosporidium toruloides during growth on different substrates using transcriptomics and metabolomics. Significant changes in gene expression and metabolite concentrations were observed, with a notable finding in xylose metabolism. These results enhance understanding of R. toruloides metabolism and may guide metabolic engineering and model development for this organism.
APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Yuwei Chen, Feng Long, Qitian Huang, Kui Wang, Jianchun Jiang, Jie Chen, Junming Xu, Xiaoan Nie
Summary: Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) with acidic ionic liquid [Bmim][HSO4] as catalyst enables direct and efficient conversion of oleaginous yeast Rhodosporidium toruloides to biodiesel, yielding high biodiesel content with high heating value.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Hiroya Taki, Kentaro Mine, Shinji Matsuo, Kazuo Kumagai, Hideto Matsuyama
Summary: Yeast oil produced by Lipomyces starkeyi is a promising sustainable alternative to palm oil, as it has a similar fatty acid composition. By investigating a new method to extract yeast oil from the emulsified liquid generated by crushing the culture, it was found that the new process has a high extraction recovery ratio of 98.2% and significantly lower energy consumption and processing cost compared to conventional methods, indicating its potential for practical applications.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Rosanina Filippousi, Panagiota Diamantopoulou, Margarita Stavropoulou, Dimitris P. Makris, Seraphim Papanikolaou
Summary: Rhodosporidium toruloides NRRL Y-27012 grown in glycerol showed significant dry cell weight production regardless of the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio used. The optimum ratio was found to be 100 moles/moles, resulting in the highest dry cell weight and lipid content. The addition of onion peel extract reduced lipid production, with a greater impact seen in aseptic conditions. Scaling up the optimum trial in a batch bioreactor led to higher glycerol assimilation rate, biomass, and lipid production compared to shake flask trials.
PROCESS BIOCHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Man Zhao, Wenting Zhou, Yanan Wang, Jian Wang, Junlu Zhang, Zhiwei Gong
Summary: This study developed a novel strategy for lipid production from low-cost substrates by combining simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) of corn stover with consolidated bioprocessing (CBP) of cassava starch using Lipomyces starkeyi. The study found that the combination strategy achieved higher lipid production at relatively low enzyme dosage and the prepared lipids were suitable for biodiesel production.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Le Zhang, Ee Lim, Kai-Chee Loh, Yanjun Dai, Yen Tong
Summary: The study found that the two-stage fermentation using yeast extract peptone dextrose (YPD) medium, orange peel (OP) hydrolysate medium, and their mixed medium had a positive impact on microbial lipid production by Lipomyces starkeyi, especially the mixed medium. Additionally, two-stage fermentation contributed to lipid accumulation, with pure OP hydrolysate medium being detrimental to cell growth.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Paul A. Adamczyk, Samuel T. Coradetti, John M. Gladden
Summary: R. toruloides is a highly tolerant oleaginous yeast with diverse metabolic capacities. This study presents a refined and extended model of R. toruloides pentose metabolism based on genetic and metabolite data. The identified enzymes responsible for pathway flux provide a better understanding of the complexity of microbial pentose metabolism.
MICROBIAL CELL FACTORIES
(2023)
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Junlu Zhang, Yanan Wang, Qingling Gou, Wei Zhou, Yantao Liu, Jikun Xu, Yi Liu, Wenting Zhou, Zhiwei Gong
Summary: This study described an efficient consolidated bioprocessing (CBP) strategy for the conversion of cassava starch into lipid using Lipomyces starkeyi. The results showed that under optimal conditions, the lipid concentration and yield reached 13.99 g/L and 0.187 g/g, respectively, from 75 g/L cassava starch. The CBP strategy featured zero enzyme cost, simpler process, and higher oleaginicity compared with other strategies. Additionally, the study analyzed the starch hydrolysis mechanism of L. starkeyi and the fuel characteristics of the CBP-derived lipid.
INDUSTRIAL CROPS AND PRODUCTS
(2022)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Sofia Sarantou, Nikolaos G. Stoforos, Ourania Kalantzi, Seraphim Papanikolaou
Summary: Four non-conventional yeast strains of the genera Yarrowia and Rhodosporidium were cultivated under nitrogen-limited conditions using biodiesel-derived glycerol as sole substrate. Strains R. toruloides DSM 4444 and Y. lipolytica ACA-DC 5033 showed better performance, producing secondary metabolites such as citric acid and polyols. A modified Velhlust-Aggelis model successfully simulated balanced growth and secondary metabolite synthesis phases for these strains, which contain lipids ideal for 2nd generation biodiesel production.
CARBON RESOURCES CONVERSION
(2021)
Review
Microbiology
Maria Kothri, Maria Mavrommati, Ahmed M. Elazzazy, Mohamed N. Baeshen, Tarek A. A. Moussa, George Aggelis
FEMS MICROBIOLOGY LETTERS
(2020)
Review
Microbiology
Marianna Dourou, Panagiotis Dritsas, Mohamed N. Baeshen, Ahmed Elazzazy, Ammar Al-Farga, George Aggelis
FEMS MICROBIOLOGY LETTERS
(2020)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Gabriela Valdes, Regis Teixeira Mendonca, Carolina Parra, George Aggelis
APPLIED BIOCHEMISTRY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Mercedes Llamas, Marianna Dourou, Cristina Gonzalez-Fernandez, George Aggelis, Elia Tomas-Pejo
BIOMASS & BIOENERGY
(2020)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Vasiliki Patrinou, Olga N. Tsolcha, Triantafyllos I. Tatoulis, Natassa Stefanidou, Marianna Dourou, Maria Moustaka-Gouni, George Aggelis, Athanasia G. Tekerlekopoulou
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Hatim A. El-Baz, Ahmed M. Elazzazy, Tamer S. Saleh, Panagiotis Dritsas, Jazem A. Mahyoub, Mohammed N. Baeshen, Hekmat R. Madian, Mohammed Alkhaled, George Aggelis
Summary: The study successfully synthesized fatty acid amides (FAAs) with antimicrobial, insecticidal, and anticancer properties using enzymatic methods, particularly from oils derived from olive oil, Umbelopsis isabellina, and Cunninghamella echinulata. These findings suggest that microbial oils can serve as efficient synthesis sources for specific biological applications.
APPLIED BIOCHEMISTRY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Olga N. Tsolcha, Vasiliki Patrinou, Christina N. Economou, Marianna Dourou, George Aggelis, Athanasia G. Tekerlekopoulou
Summary: Bioethanol production potential from different biomasses derived from a cyanobacteria-based microbial consortium grown on chemical medium and wastewaters was examined in this study, with the best results obtained using sulfuric acid 2.5 N for acid hydrolysis. After optimizing sugar release, alcoholic fermentation using Saccharomyces cerevisiae was performed, achieving up to 85.9% of the theoretical ethanol yield when a raisin residue extract was added to the biomass broth.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Hatim A. El-Baz, Ahmed M. Elazzazy, Tamer S. Saleh, Marianna Dourou, Jazem A. Mahyoub, Mohammed N. Baeshen, Hekmat R. Madian, George Aggelis
Summary: Sugar fatty acid esters, especially glucose fatty acid esters (GEs), have broad applications in food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries. In this research, fatty acid moieties derived from polyunsaturated fatty acids containing single-cell oils were converted into GEs by enzymatic synthesis using lipases as biocatalysts. The synthesized GEs showed various biological activities, such as antimicrobial and insecticidal properties, as well as the induction of apoptosis in ovarian cancer cells. The study indicates the potential use of single-cell oils in the synthesis of GEs with beneficial biological properties.
APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL
(2021)
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Maria Mavrommati, Alexandra Daskalaki, Seraphim Papanikolaou, George Aggelis
Summary: Adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) is an innovative approach that generates microbial strains with desired characteristics through the implementation of natural selection rules. ALE has been applied to various microorganisms to improve their performance and investigate the genetic background of evolution, showing promising applications.
BIOTECHNOLOGY ADVANCES
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Marianna Dourou, Christina N. Economou, Lida Aggeli, Miroslav Janak, Gabriela Valdes, Nefeli Elezi, Dimitrios Kakavas, Theodore Papageorgiou, Alexandra Lianou, Dimitrios V. Vayenas, Milan Certik, George Aggelis
Summary: Pomegranate residues can be used as a potential feedstock for chemical and biotechnological processes. The polysaccharides extracted from PRs can be used as substrate for biotechnological applications, including ethanol and single cell oil production.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Vasiliki Patrinou, Alexandra Daskalaki, Dimitris Kampantais, Dimitris C. Kanakis, Christina N. Economou, Dimitris Bokas, Yannis Kotzamanis, George Aggelis, Dimitris V. Vayenas, Athanasia G. Tekerlekopoulou
Summary: This study cultivated Tetraselmis striata, a marine microalgae, in drilling waters with different salinities and optimized the growth substrate. The effects of pH, temperature, photoperiod, and CO2 flow rate on biomass productivity and composition were investigated. The results showed that the strain had better growth in 2.8% drilling waters with the fertilizer Nutri-Leaf and aHCO(3). A pH of 8 and a temperature of 25°C were found to be optimal for high biomass productivity and composition. Continuous illumination and a CO2 flow rate of 10 mL min(-1) were essential for biomass production. The produced biomass had high protein content, suitable amino acids, and high levels of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), making it suitable for incorporation into conventional fish feeds. This study also analyzed the impact of functional parameters on nutrient uptake by Tetraselmis.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Konstantinos P. Papadopoulos, Christina N. Economou, Natassa Stefanidou, Maria Moustaka-Gouni, Savvas Genitsaris, George Aggelis, Athanasia G. Tekerlekopoulou, Dimitris V. Vayenas
Summary: The use of algal-bacterial aggregates for wastewater treatment and bioethanol production is feasible and contributes to the development of a circular economy.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Maria Mavrommati, Seraphim Papanikolaou, George Aggelis
Summary: This study describes an Adaptive Laboratory Evolution (ALE) strategy to develop Saccharomyces cerevisiae populations with increased tolerance to ethanol. The evolved populations after 100 generations could survive for 1 hour at 23% v/v ethanol and for 2 hours at 25% v/v ethanol. The fermentation ability and growth rate of the yeast strains were significantly improved through ethanol-based evolution.
PROCESS BIOCHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Biology
Vasiliki Patrinou, Stefania Patsialou, Alexandra Daskalaki, Christina N. Economou, George Aggelis, Dimitris V. Vayenas, Athanasia G. Tekerlekopoulou
Summary: This study cultivated marine microalgae Tetraselmis striata in different scaled photobioreactors using different growth substrates. Results showed that using the commercial fertilizer Nutri-Leaf led to higher biomass productivity and improved biomass composition. Pilot-scale experiments further confirmed the successful cultivation of this strain in larger volumes and the high commercial potential of its biomass.
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Gabriela Valdes, Regis Teixeira Mendonca, George Aggelis
APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL
(2020)
