Accumulation of High-Value Lipids in Single-Cell Microorganisms: A Mechanistic Approach and Future Perspectives

Abstract

In recent years attention has been focused on the utilization of microorganisms as alternatives for industrial and nutritional applications. Considerable research has been devoted to techniques for growth, extraction, and purification of high-value lipids for their use as biofuels and biosurfactants as well as high-value metabolites for nutrition and health. These successes argue that the elucidation of the mechanisms underlying the microbial biosynthesis of such molecules, which are far from being completely understood, now will yield spectacular opportunities for industrial scale biomolecular production. There are important additional questions to be solved to optimize the processing strategies to take advantage of the assets of microbial lipids. The present review describes the current state of knowledge regarding lipid biosynthesis, accumulation, and transport mechanisms present in single-cell organisms, specifically yeasts, microalgae, bacteria, and archaea. Similarities and differences in biochemical pathways and strategies of different microorganisms provide a diverse toolset to the expansion of biotechnologies for lipid production. This paper is intended to inspire a generation of lipid scientists to insights that will drive the biotechnologies of microbial production as uniquely enabling players of lipid biotherapeutics, biofuels, biomaterials, and other opportunity areas into the 21st century.

Unique Motifs and Length of Hairpin in Oleosin Target the Cytosolic Side of Endoplasmic Reticulum and Budding Lipid Droplet

“…LDs are directly involved in being overweight and obesity (Konige et al, 2014), genetic defects leading to disturbed LD homeostasis (Krahmer et al, 2013;Konige et al, 2014), storage of histones and other proteins for rapid development or specific metabolic needs (Li et al, 2012), and virus and Chlamydia infections (Saka and Valdivia, 2012). LDs are warehouses for potential industrial manufacture of pharmaceuticals and other high-value products (Garay et al, 2014) as well as renewable biodiesels in plant seeds and microbes (Aguirre et al, 2013).…”

Bioinformatics Reveal Five Lineages of Oleosins and the Mechanism of Lineage Evolution Related to Structure/Function from Green Algae to Seed Plants

“…Vegetative oils from plant LDs have been extensively used for food and nonfood purposes. Recently, studies of LDs have attracted major attention after they were recognized to participate in the industrial manufacture of renewable biodiesels in photosynthetic organisms (Merchant et al, 2012;Aguirre et al, 2013) and high-value lipid-related products (Garay et al, 2014) in diverse organisms as well as human diseases related to obesity and host-pathogen interactions (Saka and Valdivia, 2012;Krahmer et al, 2013).…”

Yarrowia lipolytica as an Oleaginous Cell Factory Platform for Production of Fatty Acid-Based Biofuel and Bioproducts

“…Y. lipolytica has been shown to withstand high levels of intracellular FFA accumulation . Several studies have explored the schematic pathway from hydrophilic or hydrophobic substrates to lipid accumulation and subsequent degradation (Fickers et al, 2005;Papanikolaou and Aggelis, 2009;Dulermo and Nicaud, 2011;Liang and Jiang, 2013;Tai and Stephanopoulos, 2013;Thevenieau and Nicaud, 2013;Garay et al, 2014;Matthäus et al, 2014). Generally, lipid accumulation takes place intracellularly through two pathways, de novo and ex novo.…”