Publications

• Characterization of sophorolipid biosynthetic enzymes from Starmerella bombicola.

  Saerens K.M., Van Bogaert I.N., Soetaert W.

  Altering glycolipid structure by genetic engineering of Starmerella bombicola is a recently started research topic and worthy alternative to the unsuccessful selective feeding strategies conventionally applied to reach this goal. One question to be addressed when expressing heterologous proteins i ... >> More

  Altering glycolipid structure by genetic engineering of Starmerella bombicola is a recently started research topic and worthy alternative to the unsuccessful selective feeding strategies conventionally applied to reach this goal. One question to be addressed when expressing heterologous proteins in S. bombicola is the activity of the subsequent biosynthetic enzymes toward such modified substrates. In this scope, we studied the substrate specificity of the UDP-glucosyltransferases UgtA1 and UgtB1, responsible for the stepwise synthesis of sophorolipids from a hydroxylated fatty acid, and that of the acetyltransferase, responsible for acetylation of the sophorolipid molecule. All enzymes showed specificity toward a C18:1 chained acceptor and both glucosyltransferases were highly selective toward the UDP-glucose donor. Severe product inhibition of the glucosyltransferases explains the limited accumulation of sophorolipid intermediates by earlier created single deletion mutants of S. bombicola. Finally, a more detailed study of the acetylation of sophorolipid intermediates sheds light on the enzymatic cascade during synthesis. << Less

  FEMS Yeast Res. 15:0-0(2015) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]

  This publication is cited by 1 other entry.

• Cloning and functional characterization of the UDP-glucosyltransferase UgtB1 involved in sophorolipid production by Candida bombicola and creation of a glucolipid-producing yeast strain.

  Saerens K.M., Zhang J., Saey L., Van Bogaert I.N., Soetaert W.

  Sophorolipids produced by the non-pathogenic yeast Candida bombicola ATCC 22214 are glycolipid biosurfactants applied commercially as biodegradable and eco-friendly detergents. Their low cell toxicity, excellent wetting capability and antimicrobial activity attract the attention of high-value mark ... >> More

  Sophorolipids produced by the non-pathogenic yeast Candida bombicola ATCC 22214 are glycolipid biosurfactants applied commercially as biodegradable and eco-friendly detergents. Their low cell toxicity, excellent wetting capability and antimicrobial activity attract the attention of high-value markets, such as the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. Although sophorolipid production yields have been increased by the optimization of fermentation parameters and feed sources, the biosynthetic pathway and genetic mechanism behind sophorolipid production still remains unclear. Here we identify a UDP-glucosyltransferase gene, UGTB1, with a key function in this economically important pathway. The protein shows sequence and structural homology to several bacterial glycosyltransferases involved in macrolide antibiotic synthesis. Deletion of UGTB1 in C. bombicola did not affect cell growth and resulted in a yeast producing glucolipids, thereby opening the route for in vivo production of these glycolipid intermediates. Activity assays on cell lysates confirmed that the identified gene is responsible for the second glucosylation step during sophorolipid production and illustrated that sophorolipid production in C. bombicola involves the stepwise action of two independent glucosyltransferases. The complete UGTB1 sequence data have been submitted to the GenBank database (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) under Accession No. HM440974. << Less

  Yeast 28:279-292(2011) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]