<i>De Novo</i> High-Titer Biosynthesis of (−)-α-Bisabolol in Engineered <i>Candida tropicalis</i> via Green Metabolic Engineered Strategies
(-)-α-bisabolol, a valuable sesquiterpene with anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties, was sustainably produced via <i>de novo</i> high-titer biosynthesis in <i>Candida tropicalis</i> using engineered cell factories. To minimize resource-intensive extraction methods, we employed green metabolic engineering strategies, including an optimized Scaffold-Mediated Assembly Regulation Tool for coexpressing <i>MrBBS</i> and <i>ERG20</i> genes, enhancing (-)-α-bisabolol titer 3.24-fold over the control strain. A novel Linker- and Scaffold-Mediated Assembly Regulation Tool further improved pathway efficiency by coordinating eight key acetyl-CoA/mevalonate pathway genes, achieving a 5.23-fold increase. Sustainable strain optimization included knockout of the competing gene <i>DPP1</i> (yielding 261.2 mg<sup>•</sup>L<sup>-1</sup>) and the peroxisomal surface display of Cat2 and ERG10 (290.1 mg<sup>•</sup>L<sup>-1</sup>). Additional deletions of genes <i>ADH1</i> and <i>GPD1</i> reduced metabolic waste, boosting the titer 2.46-fold. A low-energy two-stage temperature control strategy further improved the titer to 1108.2 mg<sup>•</sup>L<sup>-1</sup>, while fed-batch fermentation in a 5 L fermenter─optimized for minimal energy and substrate input─achieved a record titer of 36.9 g<sup>•</sup>L<sup>-1</sup>. This study demonstrated a green, scalable biosynthesis platform for (-)-α-bisabolol, reducing reliance on petrochemical or plant-extraction routes, and provided a sustainable blueprint for terpenoid production in nonconventional yeasts.
Authors
- Jiawei Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-1839-4671)
- Haiquan Yang
- Li Zhou
- Xianzhong Chen
- Wei Shen
- Lingling Chen
Institutions
- Jiangnan University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- ACS Synthetic Biology
- Published
- 2026-01-21
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acssynbio.5c00625
- Primary Topic
- Plant biochemistry and biosynthesis
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00