Food and Fermentation Industries >

2025 , Vol. 51 >Issue 22: 198 - 204

DOI: https://doi.org/10.13995/j.cnki.11-1802/ts.042088

Metabolic engineering and medium optimization for β-elemene production in Yarrowia lipolytica

  • XU Longxing ,
  • SUN Yuejia ,
  • ZHANG Weichen ,
  • PANG Kun ,
  • LIU Pengcai ,
  • LIU Shuncheng ,
  • YUAN Lijie
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  • 1(Hebei Key Laboratory for Chronic Diseases, Tangshan Key Laboratory for Preclinical and Basic Research on Chronic Diseases, School of Basic Medical Sciences, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan 063210, China)
    2(College of Nursing and Rehabilitation, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan 063210, China)
    3(Jitang College, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan 063210, China)
    4(Health Science Center, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan 063210, China)
    5(Hebei Key Laboratory of Medical Engineering and Integrated Utilization of Saline-alkali Land, Tangshan 063210, China)
    6(Hebei Administration of TCM Key Laboratory of Quality Control of Salt-alkali Resistant TCM, Tangshan 063210, China)

Received date: 2025-01-09

  Revised date: 2025-04-03

  Online published: 2025-12-15

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Abstract

β-elemene, the primary active ingredient of the antitumor drug elemene, is a type of sesquiterpene extracted from the mature tubers of Curcuma wenyujin.It has been widely used in clinical settings as an adjuvant therapy for treating tumors.However, the extraction method of β-elemene from plants is plagued by a low yield, difficulties in purification, and potential environmental pollution issues.This study constructed a recombinant strain in Yarrowia lipolytica.By expressing germacrene A synthase from Lactuca sativa, an initial β-elemene yield of 23.19 mg/L was obtained.Modular engineering was utilized to sequentially express genes associated with β-elemene synthesis, including ERG10, ERG13, HMGR, ERG12, ERG8, IDI, ERG19, and ERG20-LTC2, with an (881.33±19.27) mg/L production.Furthermore, by increasing the copy number of ERG20-LTC2 and medium optimization, the β-elemene production reached (1 668.13±41.01) mg/L, which was 71-fold higher than that of the initial strain.This study provides practical guidance for the industrial production of β-elemene and establishes a solid foundation for the biosynthesis of terpene natural products in Y.lipolytica.

Key words： synthetic biology; metabolic engineering; terpenoids; Yarrowia lipolytica; β-elemene

Cite this article

XU Longxing , SUN Yuejia , ZHANG Weichen , PANG Kun , LIU Pengcai , LIU Shuncheng , YUAN Lijie . Metabolic engineering and medium optimization for β-elemene production in Yarrowia lipolytica[J]. Food and Fermentation Industries, 2025 , 51(22) : 198 -204 . DOI: 10.13995/j.cnki.11-1802/ts.042088

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