Optimization of a hybrid bacterial/Arabidopsis thaliana fatty acid synthase system II in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Fatty acids are produced by eukaryotes like baker's yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae mainly using a large multifunctional type I fatty acid synthase (FASI) where seven catalytic steps and a carrier domain are shared between one or two protein subunits. While this system may offer efficiency in catalysis, only a narrow range of fatty acids are produced. Prokaryotes, chloroplasts and mitochondria rely instead on a FAS type II (FASII) where each catalytic step is carried out by a monofunctional enzyme encoded by a separate gene. FASII is more flexible and capable of producing a wider range of fatty acid structures, such as the direct production of unsaturated fatty acids. An efficient FASII in the preferred industrial organism S. cerevisiae could provide a platform for developing sustainable production of specialized fatty acids. We functionally replaced either yeast FASI genes (FAS1 or FAS2) with a FASII consisting of nine genes from Escherichia coli (acpP, acpS and fab -A, -B, -D, -F, -G, -H, -Z) as well as three from Arabidopsis thaliana (MOD1, FATA1 and FATB). The genes were expressed from an autonomously replicating multicopy vector assembled using the Yeast Pathway Kit for in-vivo assembly in yeast. Two rounds of adaptation led to a strain with a maximum growth rate (µmax) of 0.19 h-1 without exogenous fatty acids, twice the growth rate previously reported for a comparable strain. Additional copies of the MOD1 or fabH genes resulted in cultures with higher final cell densities and three times higher lipid content compared to the control.

Single Cell Oil Production by Oleaginous Yeasts Grown in Synthetic and Waste-Derived Volatile Fatty Acids.

Four yeast isolates from the species-Apiotrichum brassicae, Candida tropicalis, Metschnikowia pulcherrima, and Pichia kudriavzevii-previously selected by their oleaginous character and growth flexibility in different carbon sources, were tested for their capacity to convert volatile fatty acids into lipids, in the form of single cell oils. Growth, lipid yields, volatile fatty acids consumption, and long-chain fatty acid profiles were evaluated in media supplemented with seven different volatile fatty acids (acetic, butyric, propionic, isobutyric, valeric, isovaleric, and caproic), and also in a dark fermentation effluent filtrate. Yeasts A. brassicae and P. kudriavzevii attained lipid productivities of more than 40% (w/w), mainly composed of oleic (>40%), palmitic (20%), and stearic (20%) acids, both in synthetic media and in the waste-derived effluent filtrate. These isolates may be potential candidates for single cell oil production in larger scale applications by using alternative carbon sources, combining economic and environmental benefits.

Design of a fixed-bed ion-exchange process for the treatment of rinse waters generated in the galvanization process using Laminaria hyperborea as natural cation exchanger.

In this study, the removal of zinc from galvanization wastewaters was performed in a fixed bed column packed with brown macro-algae Laminaria hyperborea, acting as a natural cation exchanger (resin). The rinse wastewater presents a zinc concentration between 9 and 22 mg/L, a high concentration of light metals (mainly Na and Ca), a high conductivity (0.5-1.5 mS/cm) and a low organic content (DOC = 7-15 mg C/L). The zinc speciation diagram showed that approximately 80% of zinc is in the form of Zn(2+) and ≅20% as ZnSO4, considering the effluent matrix. From all operational conditions tested for zinc uptake (17 < bed height<27 cm, 4.5 < flow rate<18.2 BV/h, 0.8 < particle equivalent diameter<2.0 mm), the highest useful capacity (7.1 mg Zn/g algae) was obtained for D/dp = 31, L/D = 11, 9.1 BV/h, τ = 6.4 min, corresponding to a service capacity of 124 BV (endpoint of 2 mg Zn/L). Elution was faster and near to 100% effective using 10 BV of HCl (1 M, 3.0%, 363 g HCl/L of resin), for flow rates higher than 4.5 BV/h. Calcium chloride solution (0.1 M) was selected as the best regenerant, allowing the reuse of the natural resin for more than 3 saturation/elution/regeneration cycles. The best operation conditions were scaled-up and tested in a pre-pilot plant. The scale-up design of the cation exchange process was proposed for the treatment of 2.4 m(3)/day of galvanization wastewater, resulting in an estimated reactants cost of 2.44 €/m(3).

Anaerobic biodegradability of Category 2 animal by-products: methane potential and inoculum source.

Category 2 animal by-products that need to be sterilized with steam pressure according Regulation (EC) 1774/2002 are studied. In this work, 2 sets of experiments were performed in mesophilic conditions: (i) biomethane potential determination testing 0.5%, 2.0% and 5.0% total solids (TS), using sludge from the anaerobic digester of a wastewater treatment plant as inoculum; (ii) biodegradability tests at a constant TS concentration of 2.0% and different inoculum sources (digested sludge from a wastewater treatment plant; granular sludge from an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor; leachate from a municipal solid waste landfill; and sludge from the slaughterhouse wastewater treatment anaerobic lagoon) to select the more adapted inoculum to the substrate in study. The higher specific methane production was of 317 mL CH(4)g(-1) VS(substrate) for 2.0% TS. The digested sludge from the wastewater treatment plant led to the lowest lag-phase period and higher methane potential rate.