Fatty-Acid Production in Yeast through Reversal of the Beta-Oxidation Cycle

Microbial cell factories based on genetically engineered yeast cells present a great opportunity for the sustainable production of both high-value and bulk chemicals and derivatives. Among those, renewable biofuel production is regarded as a hotspot as an industrially relevant application. In this work, we present a metabolic engineering strategy for the production of short- and medium-chain fatty acids in S. cerevisiae that can be recognized as a reversal of the fatty-acid beta-oxidation cycle which could later be combined with a biofuel-producing strategy using fatty acids as a precursor. Results from the expression of this pathway for production of fatty alcohols will be presented.