Biopetrolia-affiliated researchers at Chalmers reported on the engineering of yeast for production of fatty alcohols, recently published in the journal Metabolic Engineering. The production was increased through facilitating fatty alcohol secretion using heterologous transporters.
Secretion of fatty acid-derived products is an important stepping stone towards high level and robust production of these in yeast. By secreting the products, downstream purification and processing becomes simpler and more efficient. At the same time, as the product does not accumulate in the cell, cell fitness and overall production capacities could be significantly increased.