Engineering <i>Yarrowia lipolytica</i> as a Cellulolytic Cell Factory for Production of <i>p</i>-Coumaric Acid from Cellulose and Hemicellulose
Jiarui Zhu, Yang Shu, Qing Cao, Xiaoyan Li, Liangcheng Jiao, Yuanxing Shi, Yunjun Yan, Li Xu, Min Yang, Xiaoman Xie, Catherine Madzak, Jinyong Yan
Abstract
De novo biosynthesis of high-value added food additive p -coumaric acid ( p -CA) direct from cellulose/hemicellulose is a more sustainable route compared to the chemical route, considering the abundant cellulose/hemicellulose resources. In this study, a novel factory was constructed for the production of p -CA in Yarrowia lipolytica using cellulose/hemicellulose as the sole carbon source. Based on multicopy integration of the TAL gene and reprogramming the shikimic acid pathway, the engineered strain produced 1035.5 ± 67.8 mg/L p -CA using glucose as a carbon source. The strains with overexpression of cellulases and hemicellulases produced 84.3 ± 2.4 and 65.3 ± 4.6 mg/L p -CA, using cellulose (carboxymethyl-cellulose) or hemicellulose (xylan from bagasse) as the carbon source, respectively. This research demonstrated the feasibility of conversion of cost-effective cellulose/hemicellulose into a value-added product and provided a sustainable cellulolytic cell factory for the utilization of cellulose/hemicellulose.