Tailored oils produced from recombinant oleaginous microorganisms

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10100341-B2
Application number	US-201514974983-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 18, 2015
Priority date	Feb 2, 2011
Publication date	Oct 16, 2018
Grant date	Oct 16, 2018

Abstract

Methods and compositions for the production of oil, fuels, oleochemicals, and other compounds in recombinant microorganisms are provided, including oil-bearing microorganisms and methods of low cost cultivation of such microorganisms. Microalgal cells containing exogenous genes encoding, for example, a lipase, a sucrose transporter, a sucrose invertase, a fructokinase, a polysaccharide-degrading enzyme, a keto acyl-ACP synthase enzyme, a fatty acyl-ACP thioesterase, a fatty acyl-CoA/aldehyde reductase, a fatty acyl-CoA reductase, a fatty aldehyde reductase, a fatty acid hydroxylase, a desaturase enzyme, a fatty aldehyde decarbonylase, and/or an acyl carrier protein are useful in manufacturing transportation fuels such as renewable diesel, biodiesel, and renewable jet fuel, as well as oleochemicals such as functional fluids, surfactants, soaps and lubricants.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for producing an oil comprising triacylglycerides, or a product produced from the oil, the method comprising:
cultivating a cell of a recombinant microalga of the genera Prototheca , the cell comprising recombinant nucleic acids operable to decrease or eliminate the expression of a gene encoding a β-ketoacyl-ACP synthase I enzyme via homologous recombination, wherein the homologous recombination interrupts or replaces a gene encoding the β-ketoacyl-ACP synthase I enzyme; and
recovering the oil from the cell, and optionally further processing the oil to produce a food, fuel, or chemical product,
wherein the oil has an altered fatty acid profile due to the recombinant nucleic acids.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the decrease or elimination of the expression of the β-ketoacyl-ACP synthase I is due to the interruption or replacement of the gene encoding the β-ketoacyl-ACP synthase I with a nucleic acid encoding a selectable marker, an invertase, a β-ketoacyl-ACP synthase, a thioesterase, a desaturase, or a hydroxylase.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the selectable marker is a galactosidase, a hydroxymethylpyrimidine phosphate synthase, an aminoglycoside 3′-phosphotransferase, or a hygromycin phosphotransferase.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the microalga is an obligate heterotroph.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the microalga is Prototheca wickerhamii, Prototheca stagnora, Prototheca portoricensis, Prototheca moriformis , or Prototheca zopfii.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the microalga is Prototheca moriformis.

Assignees

• Corbion Biotech Inc

Inventors

• Franklin Scott
• Somanchi Aravind
• Wee Janice
• Rudenko George
• Moseley Jeffrey L
• Rakitsky Walter
• Zhao Xinhua
• Bhat Riyaz

Classifications

• C12N9/1029

  transferring groups other than amino-acyl groups (2.3.1) · CPC title

• C07C69/52

  Esters of acyclic unsaturated carboxylic acids having the esterified carboxyl group bound to an acyclic carbon atom · CPC title

• C10L2290/26

  Composting, fermenting or anaerobic digestion fuel components or materials from which fuels are prepared · CPC title

• C12N15/52

  Genes encoding for enzymes or proenzymes · CPC title

• C12N9/16

  acting on ester bonds (3.1) · CPC title