Tuning single‐cell oil production in Ashbya gossypii by engineering the elongation and desaturation systems

Microbial oils represent a sustainable alternative to vegetable oils and animal fats as feedstock for both the chemical and biofuel industries. The applications of microbial oils depend on their fatty acid composition, which is defined by the relative amount of each fatty acid, also considering the length and unsaturations of the acyl chain. These two properties are determined by elongases and desaturases. In the present study, we characterized the elongase and desaturase systems in the filamentous fungus Ashbya gossypii , which is able to accumulate high amounts of lipids. Additionally, both the elongation and desaturation systems were engineered in order to broaden the potential applications of A. gossypii oils. Finally, the properties of the strains engineered for biodiesel production were analyzed, with the observation that A. gossypii is a good candidate for the microbial production of renewable biofuels. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2014;111: 1782–1791. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.