Wax esters of different compositions produced via engineering of leaf chloroplast metabolism in Nicotiana benthamiana

• In a future bin based economy, renewable sources for lipid compounds at attractive cost are needed for applications where today petrochemical derivatives are dominating. Wax esters and fatty alcohols provide diverse industrial uses, such as in lubricant and surfactant production. In this study, chloroplast metabolism was engineered to divert intermediates from de nova fatty acid biosynthesis to wax ester synthesis. To accomplish this, chloroplast targeted fatty acyl recluctases (EAR) and wax ester synthases (WS) were transiently expressed in Nic"onana benthamiuna loaves. Wax esters of different qualities and quantities were produced providing insights to the properties and interaction of the individual enzymes used. In particular, a phytyl ester synthase was found to be a premium candidate for medium chain wax ester synthesis. Catalytic activities of FAR and WS were also expressed as a fusion protein and determined functionally equivalent to the expression of individual enzymes for wax ester synthesis in chloroplasts. (C) 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. On behalf of International Metabolic Engineering Society.

Ämnesord

LANTBRUKSVETENSKAPER  -- Bioteknologi med applikationer på växter och djur -- Växtbioteknologi (hsv//swe)

AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES  -- Agricultural Biotechnology -- Plant Biotechnology (hsv//eng)

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