Developing oleaginous yeast as model organisms for lipid production

Deewan, Anshu

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/115932 Copy

Description

Title

Developing oleaginous yeast as model organisms for lipid production

Author(s)

Deewan, Anshu

Issue Date

2022-07-15

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Rao, Christopher V

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Rao, Christopher V

Committee Member(s)

• Kraft, Mary L
• Shukla, Diwakar
• Jin, Yong-Su

Department of Study

Chemical & Biomolecular Engr

Discipline

Chemical Engineering

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

Oleaginous yeast, transcriptomics, RNA-seq, bioinformatics

Abstract

Over the last few decades, there has been a consistent research effort to reduce the dependence on fossil fuel-derived feedstocks. Plant biomass provides a sustainable alternative to crude-based feedstocks. Oleaginous yeasts (yeasts that can store 20% w/w lipids) are an emerging class of microorganisms, producing biofuels and bioproducts from renewable biomass. While yeasts like Rhodosporiduim toruloides, Lipomyces starkeyi, and Yarrowia lipolytica are ideal hosts for lipid production from biomass, we are limited in our understanding of the physiology of these yeasts. The work presented in this thesis aims at understanding the mechanisms involved in sugar utilization and lipid accumulation in oleaginous yeasts using various bioinformatics tools and mathematical modeling. This work improves our understanding of these yeasts and helps in the rational design of increased lipid-producing strains. Chapter 1 provides a brief introduction to the fermentation of lignocellulosic hydrolysates. Chapter 2 reports the substrate uptake and utilization pathways in the oleaginous yeast Rhodosporiduim toruloides. In Chapter 3, we report the sugar utilization pathways in Lipomyces starkeyi. Using RNA sequencing and metabolomics, we identify the genes and pathways involved in the utilization of various sugars in both the yeasts. This work was done in collaboration with Dr. Sujit Jagtap and Dr. JingJing-Liu. Chapter 4 identifies the transporters involved in sugar uptakes in yeasts and compares them to known transporters in plants. We characterize the transporter LST1_205437 from the yeast Lipomyces starkeyi, which is capable of transporting glucose and xylose simultaneously. This work was done in collaboration with Drs. Nurzhan Kuanyshev, Sujit Jagtap and JingJing-Liu. Chapter 5 discusses the insertion of a thioesterase gene in the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica for the production of medium chain alcohols. We present a bioinformatics pipeline to identify the gene's location, copy number variation, and plasmid insertion. Chapter 6 summarizes this work and discusses the next steps toward developing these yeasts as model organisms.

Graduation Semester

2022-08

Type of Resource

Thesis

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2022 Anshu Deewan

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