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Abstract
Yeast single cell oil (SCO) is a non-crop-based, renewable oil source that can be used for the production of bio-based oleochemicals. Stand-alone production of SCO for oleochemicals is currently not cost-competitive because lower-cost alternatives from petroleum and crop-based resources are available. Utilizing low-valued nutrient sources, implementing cost-efficient downstream processes and adopting biotechnological advancements such as systems biology and metabolic engineering could prove valuable in making an SCO platform a reality in the emerging bio-based economy. This review aims to consider key biochemical pathways for storage lipid synthesis, possible pathways for SCO yield improvement, previously used bioprocessing techniques for SCO production, challenges in SCO commercialization and advantages of adopting a renewable SCO platform.
Acknowledgements
Special thanks to Dr. Dirk Maier of the Kansas State University Grain Science and Industry Department and Ms. Sarah Hancock of the Kansas State University, Department of Communications and Agricultural Education, for their helpful comments and edits; Ms. Diane Miller for illustrating the figures.
Declarations of interest
This material is based upon work supported by National Science Foundation Grant # 0903701: “Integrating the Socioeconomic, Technical, and Agricultural Aspects of Renewable and Sustainable Biorefining Program awarded to Kansas State University”. This is contribution number 14-408-J from the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station.