Terpenoid biosynthesis in yeast

What is it about?

Terpenoids are a class of high-value natural products with wide numerous application, mainly in human health. Their production from petrochemical feedstocks is no longer sustainable and sourcing them as plant extracts is costly and not competitive. An alternative promising path is by engineering microorganisms for their production, however, synthetic biology efforts to achieve economically viable titers and productivities are frequently hampered by competitions between satisfying the needs of host cells and the production pathway. In this case, canonical terpenoid precursors are tightly coupled to the biosynthesis of sterols, which are essential for yeast viability. To circumvent this challenge, we established an orthogonal shortcut pathway to terpenoid precursor synthesis by introducing and optimizing the Isopentenol Utilization Pathway (IUP) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. IUP-based precursor forming routes in S. cerevisiae eliminated the competition from sterol synthesis, and augmented the native mevalonate pathway flux for terpenoid biosynthesis. We demonstrate our findings to provide a universal and effective yeast platform for the production of diverse terpenoid products.

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Photo by Fulvio Ciccolo on Unsplash

Photo by Fulvio Ciccolo on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Our findings provide a universal and effective yeast platform for the production of diverse terpenoid products.