Research by Biopetrolia and Chalmers researchers has recently been featured as the cover story in Natural Chemical Biology. The research involves modification of Fatty Acid Synthase, an enzyme that normally synthesizes long chain fatty acids. In this work the enzyme was re-engineered to produce short and medium fatty acids and methyl ketones, important compounds in the chemicals and fragrance industries. When combined with further manipulation of the yeast metabolism, a record level of short and medium chain fatty acids was achieved.
Read the original article from Nature Chemical Biology
See also Zhiwei Zhu’s interview regarding his work [in English] and the news article from NyTeknik.se [in Swedish]