The yeast enzyme Eht1 is an octanoyl-CoA:ethanol acyltransferase that also functions as a thioesterase

Mandacaru fruit pulp (Cereus jamacaru D.C.) as an adjunct and its influence on Beer properties

Beer is a complex product due to its raw materials (malt, hops, yeast, and water). Beer production can also use other matters as adjuncts. This study investigated the influence of Mandacaru fruit pulp (MFP) as an adjunct on volatile and phenolic compounds, and antioxidant properties of Beer. Worts were produced using four treatments including a control. Fermentations were conducted for 10 days at 18 °C using yeast Lachancea spp, maturated at 3 °C for 15 days, and bottled at 20 °C for 15 days. All compounds were evaluated by HPLC, and GC-MS. Worts' supplementation influenced the volatile and phenolic profile and increased the antioxidant activity of wort and Beer. Beers A (100 g of MFP/L), B (200 g of MFP/L), and C (300 g of MFP/L) presented higher ethanol and glycerol content. Beer C contained the highest antioxidant activity and total phenolic content. Worts' supplemented with MFP increased aroma formation.

Screening low-methanol and high-aroma produced yeasts for cider fermentation by transcriptive characterization

The commercial active dry yeast strains used for cider production in China are far behind the requirements of the cider industry development in recent decades. In this study, eight yeasts, including Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Pichia bruneiensis, and Pichia kudriavzevii, were screened and assessed by growth performance, methanol production, aroma analysis, and their transcriptive characterization. Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains WFC-SC-071 and WFC-SC-072 were identified as promising alternatives for cider production. Strains WFC-SC-071 and WFC-SC-072 showed an excellent growth capacity characterized by 91.6 and 88.8% sugar utilization, respectively. Methanol production by both strains was below 200 mg/L. Key aroma compounds imparting cider appreciably characteristic aroma increased in cider fermented by strains WFC-SC-071 and WFC-SC-072. RT-qPCR analysis suggested that most genes associated with growth capacity, carbohydrate uptake, and aroma production were upregulated in WFC-SC-071 and WFC-SC-072. Overall, two Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains are the optimal starters for cider production to enable the diversification of cider, satisfy the differences in consumer demand, and promote cider industry development.

Selection by UV Mutagenesis and Physiological Characterization of Mutant Strains of the Yeast Saprochaete suaveolens (Former Geotrichum fragrans) with Higher Capacity to Produce Flavor Compounds

Yeast volatile organic compounds (VOCs), i.e. low molecular weight organic acids, alcohols and esters, are considered as potential and sustainable sources of natural aromas that can replace commonly used artificial flavors in food and other industrial sectors. Although research generally focuses on the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, other so-called unconventional yeasts (NCY) are beginning to attract the attention of researchers, particularly for their ability to produce alternative panels of VOCs. With this respect, a Saprochaete suaveolens strain isolated from dragon fruit in Reunion Island was shown to produce α-unsaturated esters from branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) such as isobutyl, isoamyl or ethyl tiglate, which are rarely found in other yeasts strains. Given that β-oxidation allows the growth of S. suaveolens on BCAAs as sole carbon source, we developped a method based on UV mutagenesis to generate mutants that can no longer grow on BCAAs, while redirecting the carbon flow towards esterification of α-unsaturated esters. Among the 15,000 clones generated through UV irradiation, we identified nine clones unable to grow on BCAAs with one of them able to produce eight times more VOCs as compared to the wild-type strain. This higher production of α-unsaturated esters in this mutant strain coincided with an almost complete loss of enoyl-CoA hydratase activity of the β-oxidation pathways and with a twofold increase of acyl-CoA hydrolase with not significant changes in the enzymes of the Ehrlich pathway. Moreover, from our knowledge, it constituted the first example of VOCs enhancement in a microbial strain by UV mutagenesis.

Probing specificities of alcohol acyltransferases for designer ester biosynthesis with a high-throughput microbial screening platform

Alcohol acyltransferases (AATs) enables microbial biosynthesis of a large space of esters by condensing an alcohol and an acyl-CoA. However, substrate promiscuity of AATs prevents microbial biosynthesis of designer esters with high selectivity. Here, we developed a high-throughput microbial screening platform that facilitates rapid identification of AATs for designer ester biosynthesis. First, we established a microplate-based culturing technique with in situ fermentation and extraction of esters. We validated its capability in rapid profiling of the alcohol substrate specificity of 20 chloramphenicol acetyltransferase variants derived from Staphylococcus aureus (CAT_Sa ) for microbial biosynthesis of acetate esters with various exogeneous alcohol supply. By coupling the microplate-based culturing technique with a previously established colorimetric assay, we developed a high-throughput microbial screening platform for AATs. We demonstrated that this platform could not only probe the alcohol substrate specificity of both native and engineered AATs but also identify the beneficial mutations in engineered AATs for enhanced ester synthesis. We anticipate the high-throughput microbial screening platform provides a useful tool to identify novel wildtype and engineered AATs that have important roles in nature and industrial biocatalysis for designer bioester production.

Influence of essential inorganic elements on flavour formation during yeast fermentation

The relative concentration of available inorganic elements is critical for yeast growth and metabolism and has potential to be a tool leading to directed yeast flavour formation during fermentation. This study investigates the influence of essential inorganic elements during alcoholic fermentation of brewers wort, fermented using three independent yeast strains, Saccharomyces pastorianus W34/70, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains M2 and NCYC2592 under a range of conditions replicated for each yeast strain. 10 treatments were applied: 1 control and 9 inorganic supplementations: standard brewers wort, ammonia-nitrogen, inorganic phosphate, potassium, magnesium, copper, zinc, iron, manganese and a composite mixture, Twenty-five chemical markers were evaluated by HPLC (ethanol, glycerol), and GC-MS (aroma). There was a significant change in volatile aroma compounds during fermentation, which was more prominent when supplemented with ammonia nitrogen, inorganic phosphate, potassium or magnesium (P < 0.05). Heavy metal ions mostly had a negative effect on the flavour formation.

Metabolic, Organoleptic and Transcriptomic Impact of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Genes Involved in the Biosynthesis of Linear and Substituted Esters

Esters constitute a broad family of volatile compounds impacting the organoleptic properties of many beverages, including wine and beer. They can be classified according to their chemical structure. Higher alcohol acetates differ from fatty acid ethyl esters, whereas a third group, substituted ethyl esters, contributes to the fruitiness of red wines. Derived from yeast metabolism, the biosynthesis of higher alcohol acetates and fatty acid ethyl esters has been widely investigated at the enzymatic and genetic levels. As previously reported, two pairs of esterases, respectively encoded by the paralogue genes ATF1 and ATF2, and EEB1 and EHT1, are mostly involved in the biosynthesis of higher alcohol acetates and fatty acid ethyl esters. These esterases have a moderate effect on the biosynthesis of substituted ethyl esters, which depend on mono-acyl lipases encoded by MGL2 and YJU3. The functional characterization of such genes helps to improve our understanding of substituted ester metabolism in the context of wine alcohol fermentation. In order to evaluate the overall sensorial impact of esters, we attempted to produce young red wines without esters by generating a multiple esterase-free strain (Δatf1, Δatf2, Δeeb1, and Δeht1). Surprisingly, it was not possible to obtain the deletion of MGL2 in the Δatf1/Δatf2/Δeeb1/Δeht1 background, highlighting unsuspected genetic incompatibilities between ATF1 and MGL2. A preliminary RNA-seq analysis depicted the overall effect of the Δatf1/Δatf2/Δeeb1/Δeht1 genotype that triggers the expression shift of 1124 genes involved in nitrogen and lipid metabolism, but also chromatin organization and histone acetylation. These findings reveal unsuspected regulatory roles of ester metabolism in genome expression for the first time.

Enhanced Production of Ethyl Lactate in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by Genetic Modification

Ethyl lactate is an important flavor substance in baijiu, and it is also one of the common raw materials in the production of flavors and spices. In this study, we first established the ethyl lactate biosynthesis pathway in Saccharomyces cerevisiae α(L) by introducing propionyl coenzyme A transferase (Pct) and alcohol acyltransferase (AAT), and the results showed that strain α(L)-CP-Ae produced the most ethyl lactate 239.53 ± 5.45 mg/L. Subsequently, the copy number of the Pct_cp gene and AeAT9 gene was increased, and the modified strain α(L)-tCP-tAe produced 346.39 ± 3.99 mg/L ethyl lactate. Finally, the porin gene (por₂) and the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier gene (MPC2) were knocked to impede mitochondrial transport of pyruvate, and the final modified strain α(L)-tCP-tAeΔpor₂ produced ethyl lactate 420.48 ± 6.03 mg/L.

Curation and Analysis of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae Genome-Scale Metabolic Model for Predicting Production of Sensory Impact Molecules under Enological Conditions

One approach for elucidating strain-to-strain metabolic differences is the use of genome-scale metabolic models (GSMMs). To date GSMMs have not focused on the industrially important area of flavor production and, as such; do not cover all the pathways relevant to flavor formation in yeast. Moreover, current models for Saccharomyces cerevisiae generally focus on carbon-limited and/or aerobic systems, which is not pertinent to enological conditions. Here, we curate a GSMM (iWS902) to expand on the existing Ehrlich pathway and ester formation pathways central to aroma formation in industrial winemaking, in addition to the existing sulfur metabolism and medium-chain fatty acid (MCFA) pathways that also contribute to production of sensory impact molecules. After validating the model using experimental data, we predict key differences in metabolism for a strain (EC 1118) in two distinct growth conditions, including differences for aroma impact molecules such as acetic acid, tryptophol, and hydrogen sulfide. Additionally, we propose novel targets for metabolic engineering for aroma profile modifications employing flux variability analysis with the expanded GSMM. The model provides mechanistic insights into the key metabolic pathways underlying aroma formation during alcoholic fermentation and provides a potential framework to contribute to new strategies to optimize the aroma of wines.

The Role of Yeasts and Lactic Acid Bacteria on the Metabolism of Organic Acids during Winemaking

The main role of acidity and pH is to confer microbial stability to wines. No less relevant, they also preserve the color and sensory properties of wines. Tartaric and malic acids are generally the most prominent acids in wines, while others such as succinic, citric, lactic, and pyruvic can exist in minor concentrations. Multiple reactions occur during winemaking and processing, resulting in changes in the concentration of these acids in wines. Two major groups of microorganisms are involved in such modifications: the wine yeasts, particularly strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which carry out alcoholic fermentation; and lactic acid bacteria, which commonly conduct malolactic fermentation. This review examines various such modifications that occur in the pre-existing acids of grape berries and in others that result from this microbial activity as a means to elucidate the link between microbial diversity and wine composition.

Perspectives for the microbial production of ethyl acetate

Ethyl acetate is one of the short-chain esters and widely used in the food, beverage, and solvent areas. The ethyl acetate production currently proceeds through unsustainable and energy intensive processes, which are based on natural gas and crude oil. Microbial conversion of biomass-derived sugars into ethyl acetate may provide a sustainable alternative. In this review, the perspectives of bio-catalyzing ethanol and acetic acid to ethyl acetate using lipases in vitro was introduced. Besides, the crucial elements for high yield of ethyl acetate in fermentation was expounded. Also, metabolic engineering in yeasts to product ethyl acetate in vivo using alcohol acyl transferases (AAT) was discussed. KEY POINTS: •The accumulation of acetyl-CoA is crucial for synthesizing ethyl acetate in vivo; AAT-mediated metabolic engineering could efficiently improve ethyl acetate production.

Study of the Enzymatic Capacity of Kluyveromyces marxianus for the Synthesis of Esters

Recently, biotechnological opportunities have been found in non-Saccharomyces yeasts because they possess metabolic characteristics that lead to the production of compounds of interest. It has been observed that Kluyveromyces marxianus has a great potential in the production of esters, which are aromatic compounds of industrial importance. The genetic bases that govern the synthesis of esters include a large group of enzymes, among which the most important are alcohol acetyl transferases (AATases) and esterases (AEATases), and it is known that some are present in K. marxianus, because it has genetic characteristics like S. cerevisiae. It also has a physiology suitable for biotechnological use since it is the eukaryotic microorganism with the fastest growth rate and has a wide range of thermotolerance with respect to other yeasts. In this work, the enzymatic background of K. marxianus involved in the synthesis of esters is analyzed, based on the sequences reported in the NCBI database.

Methodologies and Applications of Proteomics for Study of Yeast Strains: An Update

Yeasts are one of the mostly used microorganisms as models in several studies. A wide range of applications in different processes can be attributed to their intrinsic characteristics. They are eukaryotes and therefore valuable expression hosts that require elaborate post-translational modifications. Their arsenal of proteins has become a valuable biochemical tool for the catalysis of several reactions of great value to the food (beverages), pharmaceutical and energy industries. Currently, the main challenge in systemic yeast biology is the understanding of the expression, function and regulation of the protein pool encoded by such microorganisms. In this review, we will provide an overview of the proteomic methodologies used in the analysis of yeasts. This research focuses on the advantages and improvements in their most recent applications with an understanding of the functionality of the proteins of these microorganisms, as well as an update of the advances of methodologies employed in mass spectrometry.

Contribution of Eat1 and Other Alcohol Acyltransferases to Ester Production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Esters are essential for the flavor and aroma of fermented products, and are mainly produced by alcohol acyl transferases (AATs). A recently discovered AAT family named Eat (Ethanol acetyltransferase) contributes to ethyl acetate synthesis in yeast. However, its effect on the synthesis of other esters is unknown. In this study, the role of the Eat family in ester synthesis was compared to that of other Saccharomyces cerevisiae AATs (Atf1p, Atf2p, Eht1p, and Eeb1p) in silico and in vivo. A genomic study in a collection of industrial S. cerevisiae strains showed that variation of the primary sequence of the AATs did not correlate with ester production. Fifteen members of the EAT family from nine yeast species were overexpressed in S. cerevisiae CEN.PK2-1D and were able to increase the production of acetate and propanoate esters. The role of Eat1p was then studied in more detail in S. cerevisiae CEN.PK2-1D by deleting EAT1 in various combinations with other known S. cerevisiae AATs. Between 6 and 11 esters were produced under three cultivation conditions. Contrary to our expectations, a strain where all known AATs were disrupted could still produce, e.g., ethyl acetate and isoamyl acetate. This study has expanded our understanding of ester synthesis in yeast but also showed that some unknown ester-producing mechanisms still exist.

Highly Multiplexed CRISPRi Repression of Respiratory Functions Enhances Mitochondrial Localized Ethyl Acetate Biosynthesis in Kluyveromyces marxianus

The emergence of CRISPR-Cas9 for targeted genome editing and regulation has enabled the manipulation of desired traits and enhanced strain development of nonmodel microorganisms. The natural capacity of the yeast Kluyveromyces marxianus to produce volatile esters at high rate and at elevated temperatures make it a potentially valuable production platform for industrial biotechnology. Here, we identify the native localization of ethyl acetate biosynthesis in K. marxianus and use this information to develop a multiplexed CRISPRi system for redirecting carbon flux along central metabolic pathways, increasing ethyl acetate productivity. First, we identified the primary pathways of precursor and acetate ester biosynthesis. A genetic knockout screen revealed that the alcohol acetyltransferase Eat1 is the critical enzyme for ethyl, isoamyl, and phenylethyl acetate production. Truncation studies revealed that high ester biosynthesis is contingent on Eat1 mitochondrial localization. As ethyl acetate is formed from the condensation of ethanol and acetyl-CoA, we modulated expression of the TCA cycle and electron transport chain genes using a highly multiplexed CRISPRi approach. The simultaneous knockdown of ACO2b, SDH2, RIP1, and MSS51 resulted in a 3.8-fold increase in ethyl acetate productivity over the already high natural capacity. This work demonstrates that multiplexed CRISPRi regulation of central carbon flux, supported by a fundamental understanding of pathway biochemistry, is a potent strategy for metabolic engineering in nonconventional microorganisms.

Polygenic Analysis in Absence of Major Effector ATF1 Unveils Novel Components in Yeast Flavor Ester Biosynthesis

Flavor production in yeast fermentation is of paramount importance for industrial production of alcoholic beverages. Although major enzymes of flavor compound biosynthesis have been identified, few specific mutations responsible for strain diversity in flavor production are known. The ATF1-encoded alcohol acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA) transferase (AATase) is responsible for the majority of acetate ester biosynthesis, but other components affecting strain diversity remain unknown. We have performed parallel polygenic analysis of low production of ethyl acetate, a compound with an undesirable solvent-like off-flavor, in strains with and without deletion of ATF1 We identified two unique causative mutations, eat1^K179fs and snf8^E148*, not present in any other sequenced yeast strain and responsible for most ethyl acetate produced in absence of ATF1EAT1 encodes a putative mitochondrial ethanol acetyl-CoA transferase (EATase) and its overexpression, but not that of EAT1^K179fs , and strongly increases ethyl acetate without affecting other flavor acetate esters. Unexpectedly, a higher level of acetate esters (including ethyl acetate) was produced when eat1^K179fs was present together with ATF1 in the same strain, suggesting that the Eat1 and Atf1 enzymes are intertwined. On the other hand, introduction of snf8^E148* lowered ethyl acetate levels also in the presence of ATF1, and it affected other aroma compounds, growth, and fermentation as well. Engineering of snf8^E148* in three industrial yeast strains (for production of wine, saké, and ale beer) and fermentation in an application-relevant medium showed a high but strain-dependent potential for flavor enhancement. Our work has identified EAT1 and SNF8 as new genetic elements determining ethyl acetate production diversity in yeast strains.IMPORTANCE Basic research with laboratory strains of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has identified the structural genes of most metabolic enzymes, as well as genes encoding major regulators of metabolism. On the other hand, more recent work on polygenic analysis of yeast biodiversity in natural and industrial yeast strains is revealing novel components of yeast metabolism. A major example is the metabolism of flavor compounds, a particularly important property of industrial yeast strains used for the production of alcoholic beverages. In this work, we have performed polygenic analysis of production of ethyl acetate, an important off-flavor compound in beer and other alcoholic beverages. To increase the chances of identifying novel components, we have used in parallel a wild-type strain and a strain with a deletion of ATF1 encoding the main enzyme of acetate ester biosynthesis. This revealed a new structural gene, EAT1, encoding a putative mitochondrial enzyme, which was recently identified as an ethanol acetyl-CoA transferase in another yeast species. We also identified a novel regulatory gene, SNF8, which has not previously been linked to flavor production. Our results show that polygenic analysis of metabolic traits in the absence of major effector genes can reveal novel structural and regulatory genes. The mutant alleles identified can be used to affect the flavor profile in industrial yeast strains for production of alcoholic beverages in more subtle ways than by deletion or overexpression of the already known major effector genes and without significantly altering other industrially important traits. The effect of the novel variants was dependent on the genetic background, with a highly desirable outcome in the flavor profile of an ale brewing yeast.

[Synthesis and regulation of flavor compounds derived from brewing yeast: Esters]

During brewing process yeast produce more than 500 chemical compounds that can negatively and positively impact beer at the organoleptic level. In recent years, and particularly thanks to the advancement of molecular biology and genomics, there has been considerable progress in our understanding about the molecular and cellular basis of the synthesis and regulation of many of these flavor compounds. This article focuses on esters, responsible for the floral and fruity beer flavor. Its formation depends on various enzymes and factors such as the concentration of wort nutrients, the amount of dissolved oxygen and carbon dioxide, fermentation temperature and mainly the genetics of the yeast used. We provide information about how the esters originate and how is the impact of different fermentative parameters on the final concentrations of these compounds and the quality of the end product.

Engineering a bacterial platform for total biosynthesis of caffeic acid derived phenethyl esters and amides

Caffeic acid has been widely recognized as a versatile pharmacophore for synthesis of new chemical entities, among which caffeic acid derived phenethyl esters and amides are the most extensively-investigated bioactive compounds with potential therapeutical applications. However, the natural biosynthetic routes for caffeic acid derived phenethyl esters or amides remain enigmatic, limiting their bio-based production. Herein, product-directed design of biosynthetic schemes allowed the development of thermodynamically favorable pathways for these compounds via acyltransferase (ATF) mediated trans-esterification. Production based screening identified a microbial O-ATF from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and a plant N-ATF from Capsicum annuum capable of forming caffeic acid derived esters and amides, respectively. Subsequent combinatorial incorporation of caffeic acid with various aromatic alcohol or amine biosynthetic pathways permitted the de novo bacterial production of a panel of caffeic acid derived phenethyl esters or amides in Escherichia coli for the first time. Particularly, host strain engineering via systematic knocking out endogenous caffeoyl-CoA degrading thioesterase and pathway optimization via titrating co-substrates enabled production enhancement of five caffeic acid derived phenethyl esters and amides, with titers ranging from 9.2 to 369.1mg/L. This platform expanded the capabilities of bacterial production of high-value natural aromatic esters and amides from renewable carbon source via tailoring non-natural biosynthetic pathways.

Engineering fungal de novo fatty acid synthesis for short chain fatty acid production

Fatty acids (FAs) are considered strategically important platform compounds that can be accessed by sustainable microbial approaches. Here we report the reprogramming of chain-length control of Saccharomyces cerevisiae fatty acid synthase (FAS). Aiming for short-chain FAs (SCFAs) producing baker's yeast, we perform a highly rational and minimally invasive protein engineering approach that leaves the molecular mechanisms of FASs unchanged. Finally, we identify five mutations that can turn baker's yeast into a SCFA producing system. Without any further pathway engineering, we achieve yields in extracellular concentrations of SCFAs, mainly hexanoic acid (C₆-FA) and octanoic acid (C₈-FA), of 464 mg l⁻¹ in total. Furthermore, we succeed in the specific production of C₆- or C₈-FA in extracellular concentrations of 72 and 245 mg l⁻¹, respectively. The presented technology is applicable far beyond baker's yeast, and can be plugged into essentially all currently available FA overproducing microorganisms.

The production of short chain fatty acids by microorganisms has numerous industrial and biofuel applications. Here the authors reprogramme S. cerevisiae fatty acid synthase with five mutations to produce C6- and C8-fatty acids and identify thioesterases responsible for hydrolysis of short chain acyl-CoA hydrolysis.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae Atf1p is an alcohol acetyltransferase and a thioesterase in vitro

The alcohol-O-acyltransferases are bisubstrate enzymes that catalyse the transfer of acyl chains from an acyl-coenzyme A (CoA) donor to an acceptor alcohol. In the industrial yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae this reaction produces acyl esters that are an important influence on the flavour of fermented beverages and foods. There is also a growing interest in using acyltransferases to produce bulk quantities of acyl esters in engineered microbial cell factories. However, the structure and function of the alcohol-O-acyltransferases remain only partly understood. Here, we recombinantly express, purify and characterize Atf1p, the major alcohol acetyltransferase from S. cerevisiae. We find that Atf1p is promiscuous with regard to the alcohol cosubstrate but that the acyltransfer activity is specific for acetyl-CoA. Additionally, we find that Atf1p is an efficient thioesterase in vitro with specificity towards medium-chain-length acyl-CoAs. Unexpectedly, we also find that mutating the supposed catalytic histidine (H191) within the conserved HXXXDG active site motif only moderately reduces the thioesterase activity of Atf1p. Our results imply a role for Atf1p in CoA homeostasis and suggest that engineering Atf1p to reduce the thioesterase activity could improve product yields of acetate esters from cellular factories. © 2017 The Authors. Yeast published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Monoacylglycerol Lipases Act as Evolutionarily Conserved Regulators of Non-oxidative Ethanol Metabolism

Fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEEs) are non-oxidative metabolites of ethanol that accumulate in human tissues upon ethanol intake. Although FAEEs are considered as toxic metabolites causing cellular dysfunction and tissue damage, the enzymology of FAEE metabolism remains poorly understood. In this study, we used a biochemical screen in Saccharomyces cerevisiae to identify and characterize putative hydrolases involved in FAEE catabolism. We found that Yju3p, the functional orthologue of mammalian monoacylglycerol lipase (MGL), contributes >90% of cellular FAEE hydrolase activity, and its loss leads to the accumulation of FAEE. Heterologous expression of mammalian MGL in yju3Δ mutants restored cellular FAEE hydrolase activity and FAEE catabolism. Moreover, overexpression or pharmacological inhibition of MGL in mouse AML-12 hepatocytes decreased or increased FAEE levels, respectively. FAEEs were transiently incorporated into lipid droplets (LDs) and both Yju3p and MGL co-localized with these organelles. We conclude that the storage of FAEE in inert LDs and their mobilization by LD-resident FAEE hydrolases facilitate a controlled metabolism of these potentially toxic lipid metabolites.

Rapid ester biosynthesis screening reveals a high activity alcohol-O-acyltransferase (AATase) from tomato fruit

Ethyl and acetate esters are naturally produced in various yeasts, plants, and bacteria. The biosynthetic pathways that produce these esters share a common reaction step, the condensation of acetyl/acyl-CoA with an alcohol by alcohol-O-acetyl/acyltransferase (AATase). Recent metabolic engineering efforts exploit AATase activity to produce fatty acid ethyl esters as potential diesel fuel replacements as well as short- and medium-chain volatile esters as fragrance and flavor compounds. These efforts have been limited by the lack of a rapid screen to quantify ester biosynthesis. Enzyme engineering efforts have also been limited by the lack of a high throughput screen for AATase activity. Here, we developed a high throughput assay for AATase activity and used this assay to discover a high activity AATase from tomato fruit, Solanum lycopersicum (Atf-S.l). Atf1-S.l exhibited broad specificity towards acyl-CoAs with chain length from C4 to C10 and was specific towards 1-pentanol. The AATase screen also revealed new acyl-CoA substrate specificities for Atf1, Atf2, Eht1, and Eeb1 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Atf-C.m from melon fruit, Cucumis melo, thus increasing the pool of characterized AATases that can be used in ester biosynthesis of ester-based fragrance and flavor compounds as well as fatty acid ethyl ester biofuels.

Production of medium-chain volatile flavour esters in Pichia pastoris whole-cell biocatalysts with extracellular expression of Saccharomyces cerevisiae acyl-CoA:ethanol O-acyltransferase Eht1 or Eeb1

Medium-chain volatile flavour esters are important molecules since they have extensive applications in food, fragrance, cosmetic, paint and coating industries, which determine different characteristics of aroma or taste in commercial products. Biosynthesis of these compounds by alcoholysis is catalyzed by acyl-CoA:ethanol O-acyltransferases Eht1 or Eeb1 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In this study, these two yeast enzymes were selected to explore their preparations as the form of whole cell biocatalysts for the production of volatile flavour esters. Here, the novel whole cell biocatalysts Pichia pastoris yeasts with functional extracellular expression of Eht1 or Eeb1 were constructed. Flavour production was established through an integrated process with coupled enzyme formation and ester biosynthesis in the recombinant yeasts in one pot, leading to the formation of volatile C6–C14 methyl and ethyl esters from wort medium. Interestingly, there is no significant difference between P. pastoris-EHT1 and P. pastoris-EEB1 in substrate preference during flavour biosynthesis, indicating a similar role of Eht1 and Eeb1 in P. pastoris cells, in contradiction with previous findings in S. cerevisiae to some extent. Consequently the study not only provides a greater understanding of these two enzymes in a heterogeneous host, but also demonstrated the positive effect of the recombinant Eht1 and Eeb1 in ester formation by P. pastoris live cells, potentially paving the way towards achieving efficient production of volatile flavour by an integrated biocatalytic system composed of recombinant enzyme production and flavour biosynthesis.