[P001] Poster

12:10 PM - 1:00 PM JST(3:10 AM - 4:00 AM UTC)

[P01-147] Engineering Yarrowia lipolytica for biosynthesis of PAHSA

○Nathan Poh^1,2, Maybelle D. Go¹, Yuen Siong Chua¹, Christopher V. Rao^1,3, Yong-Su Jin^1,3, Wen Shan Yew^1,2 (1. Illinois Advanced Research Centre Singapore (Singapore), 2. National University of Singapore (Singapore), 3. University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (USA))

Keywords:

FAHFA,PAHSA,Oleate Hydratase,Candida antarctica lipase A

Fatty acyl esters of hydroxy fatty acids (FAHFAs) represent a unique class of bioactive lipids first identified in murine models in 2014. Among these, palmitic acid esters of hydroxy stearic acids (PAHSAs) have attracted particular interest due to their pronounced biological activities, including the regulation of glucose homeostasis, enhancement of insulin sensitivity, and suppression of pro-inflammatory cytokine production. The physiological significance of FAHFAs is further supported by their endogenous occurrence in a variety of dietary sources, such as plants and animal products including meat, vegetable oil, grains and fruits. These properties position PAHSAs as promising candidates for therapeutic applications and as functional ingredients in food systems. Despite their considerable potential, large-scale production of PAHSAs remains a major challenge due to their low natural abundance and the complexity of conventional chemical synthesis routes. To address this limitation, we propose a biosynthetic approach for PAHSA production using the oleaginous yeast Yarrowia lipolytica as a microbial cell factory. This strategy involves the heterologous expression of oleate hydratase and Candida antarctica lipase A to establish an intracellular pathway for PAHSA synthesis. This work provides a foundation for the sustainable and scalable microbial production of these high-value lipids.