Microbial oils with lowered pour points, dielectric fluids produced therefrom, and related methods

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10167489-B2
Application number	US-201615179253-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 10, 2016
Priority date	Nov 3, 2010
Publication date	Jan 1, 2019
Grant date	Jan 1, 2019

Abstract

Methods and compositions for the production of dielectric fluids from lipids produced by 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 sucrose transporter, a sucrose invertase, a fructokinase, a polysaccharide-degrading enzyme, a lipid pathway modification enzyme, a fatty acyl-ACP thioesterase, a desaturase, a fatty acyl-CoA/aldehyde reductase, and/or an acyl carrier protein are useful in manufacturing dielectric fluids.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of producing a microalgal oil, the method comprising:
a. cultivating a genetically engineered Chlorella or Prototheca cell engineered to ablate or downregulate expression of an endogenous fatty acyl-ACP thioesterase gene until the microbe has at least 10% oil by dry weight;
b. separating the oil from the microbe; and optionally
c. subjecting the oil to refining, bleaching, deodorizing or degumming to produce RBD microbial oil.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the endogenous fatty acyl-ACP thioesterase gene is downregulated by an inhibitory RNA.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the Prototheca or Chlorella cell is of the species Prototheca moriformis or Chlorella protothecoides.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the Chlorella or Prototheca cell further comprises one or more expressed exogenous genes that encode a sucrose invertase, a fatty acyl-ACP thioesterase or a desaturase.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the one or more expressed exogenous genes encode(s) an inhibitory RNA that targets an endogenous desaturase.

6. A method of producing a microalgal oil, the method comprising:
a. cultivating a genetically engineered Chlorella or Prototheca cell engineered to ablate or downregulate expression of an endogenous fatty acyl-ACP thioesterase gene and engineered to express one or more exogenous genes until the microbe has at least 10% oil by dry weight;
b. separating the oil from the microbe; and optionally
c. subjecting the oil to refining, bleaching, deodorizing or degumming to produce RBD microbial oil.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the endogenous fatty acyl-ACP thioesterase gene is downregulated by an inhibitory RNA.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the one or more expressed exogenous genes encode(s) sucrose invertase, fatty acyl-ACP thioesterase or desaturase.

9. The method of claim 6 , wherein the one or more expressed exogenous genes encode(s) an inhibitory RNA that targets an endogenous desaturase.

10. The method of claim 6 , wherein the Prototheca or Chlorella is of the species Prototheca moriformis or Chlorella protothecoides.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the endogenous fatty acyl-ACP thioesterase gene is ablated.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the Prototheca or Chlorella cell is of the species Prototheca moriformis or Chlorella protothecoides.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the Chlorella or Prototheca cell further comprises one or more expressed exogenous genes that encode a sucrose invertase, a fatty acyl-ACP thioesterase or a desaturase.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the one or more expressed exogenous genes encode(s) an inhibitory RNA that targets an endogenous desaturase.

15. The method of claim 6 , wherein the endogenous fatty acyl-ACP thioesterase gene is ablated.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the one or more expressed exogenous genes encode(s) sucrose invertase, fatty acyl-ACP thioesterase or desaturase.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the one or more expressed exogenous genes encode(s) an inhibitory RNA that targets an endogenous desaturase.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the Prototheca or Chlorella is of the species Prototheca moriformis or Chlorella protothecoides.

Assignees

• Corbion Biotech Inc

Inventors

• Franklin Scott
• Rakitsky Walter
• Rudenko George
• Zhao Xinhua
• Rodriguez Felipe Arana
• Lu Wenhua
• Wee Janice

Classifications

• C12Y301/02014

  Oleoyl-[acyl-carrier-protein] hydrolase (3.1.2.14), i.e. ACP-thioesterase · CPC title

• C12P7/6409

  Fatty acids · CPC title

• C11B1/06

  by pressing · CPC title

• C12N9/2442

  Chitinase (3.2.1.14) · CPC title

• H01B3/20

  liquids, e.g. oils (silicone oils H01B3/46) · CPC title