Jojoba Research Articles

Antioxidant Activity of Jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis) Seed Residue Extract

Jojoba ( Simmondsia chinensis (Link)) is a shrub plant that widely used as cosmetic ingredients especially jojoba oil. When making jojoba oil, the residue still reminds and become waste. This study aimed to determine the antioxidant activity of jojoba seed residue (JSR). Jojoba seed residue was collected from Sudan. The JSR extracted by maceration with n -hexane, ethyl acetate, and 70% ethanol solvent. The antioxidant activity was determined using DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) assay. The result showed that 70% ethanol extract of JSR had the highest antioxidant activity with 50% Inhibition Concentration (IC 50 ) value of 219.42 mg/L. The 70% ethanol extract was fractionated by using silica gel column chromatography with gradient elution produced 10 fractions. All fractions showed antioxidant activity (IC 50 106-447 mg/L). Fraction 3 had the highest antioxidant activity with IC 50 value of 106.26 mg/L. Therefore, JSR has a great potential for use as a raw material in cosmetic and pharmaceutical products industry, or as a source of bioactive compounds.

Biochemical and antibacterial activity of Jojoba Oil ‘Simmondsia chinensis’ in rats

Biochemical and antibacterial activity of Jojoba Oil ‘Simmondsia chinensis’ in rats

Effect of CuO nanoparticles concentration on the performance and emission characteristics of the diesel engine running on jojoba (Simmondsia Chinensis) biodiesel

The utilization of the petroleum products in engines is harmful to the humans as they pollute the environment. Nowadays, extensive research is in process to find an alternative fuel and improve its quality. The nanoparticles are one of the recent technologies that is useful for upgrading the fuel properties. This work aims to find the influence of CuO nanoparticles on performance of diesel engine, emission and combustion characteristics which runs on jojoba biodiesel blend (JB20) as a fuel. Different proportions of CuO nanoparticles (25, 50, and 75 ppm) were dispersed into the JB20 fuel. It is experimentally seen that BTE for the JB20CN50 fuel was higher than that of other Jojoba biodiesel fuel samples. The combustion characteristics such as ignition delay, HRR and cylinder pressure were also determined for analysing the effect of CuO nanoparticles. Engine emission hydrocarbons, CO and smoke emissions were also found lesser when the CuO nanoparticles added to JB20.

Salt-Tolerant Phenomena, Sequencing and Characterization of a Glyoxalase I (Jojo-Gly I) Gene from Jojoba in Comparison with Other Glyoxalase I Genes.

Plant response to salt stress and the mechanism of salt tolerance have received major focus by plant biology researchers. Biotic stresses cause extensive losses in agricultural production globally, but abiotic stress causes significant increase in the methylglyoxal (MG) level of Glyoxalase I (Gly I). Identification of salt-tolerant genes when characterizing their phenotypes will help to identify novel genes using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to amplify the DNA coding region for glyoxalase I. This method is specific, requiring only genomic DNA and two pairs of PCR primers, and involving two successive PCR reactions. This method was used rapidly and easily identified glyoxalase I sequences as salt-tolerant genes from Jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis (Link) Schneider). In the present study, the glyoxalase I gene was isolated, amplified by PCR using gene-specific primers and sequenced from the jojoba plant, then compared with other glyoxalase I sequences in other plants and glyoxalase I genes like in Brassica napus, ID: KT720495.1; Brassica juncea ID: Y13239.1, Arachis hypogaea; ID: DQ989209.2; and Arabidopsis thaliana L, ID: AAL84986. The structural gene of glyoxalase I, when sequenced and analyzed, revealed that the uninterrupted open reading frame (ORF) of jojoba Gly I (Jojo-Gly I) spans 775 bp, corresponding to 185 amino acid residues, and shares 45.2% amino acid sequence identity to jojoba (Jojo-Gly I). The cloned ORF, in a multicopy constitutive expression plasmid, complemented the Jojo-Gly I, confirming that the encoded Jojo-Gly I in jojoba showed some homology with other known glyoxalase I sequences of plants.

Towards agro-environmentally sustainable irrigation with treated produced water in hyper-arid environments

Produced water (PW) is the main waste stream generated from oil and gas extraction. Nowadays, half of the global PW volume is managed through environmentally controversial and expensive disposal practices, such as re-injection through deep wells. In dry areas such as in the Arabian Peninsula, PW could be reused to irrigate crops, creating environmental, economic and social value. However, the quality of most PWs remains challenging as their high salinity, sodicity and alkalinity can degrade soil fertility and crop yield. Mitigating these negative impacts is costly as it requires specific PW treatment and irrigation management. Thus, the environmental sustainability and the cost of irrigation with PW are uncertain. The aims of this paper was to assess the agro-environmental sustainability of irrigating crops with PW in hot and hyper-arid climate and to estimate the operating cost of reusing PW for irrigation in order to compare this PW management approach to PW disposal in terms of environmental impacts and financial cost. To this end, a soil-water model was used to simulate irrigation of jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis) with oilfield-PW. Different irrigation strategies combining over-irrigation, PW blending and desalination were tested to preserve the soil structural stability and the crop yield. The operational costs of identified sustainable scenarios were estimated using a cost analysis. In this case study, the simulations showed that using an irrigation volume up to ∼390 % of the crop water needs with a blend composed of raw and desalinated PW in a 2:1 ratio could preserve the soil structural stability and the crop yield. However, for irrigation, the least-cost option was to mix raw and desalinated PW in a 1:4 ratio and to reduce the irrigation amount to just meet the crop water needs. Although the cost of managing PW in irrigation remains up to 2.5 times higher than PW disposal, this practice might be competitive considering the crop value generated and the increasing need for sustainable alternatives to PW disposal.

Asexual propagation of most promising genotypes of jojoba Simmondsia chinensis

Propagation of jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis) by direct seeding has genetic heterogeneity and about half of the seedlings may be males. Plantation with asexual propagules, though expensive, but it saves time to replant plants of known sex with high production. Vegetative propagation through layering, grafting, cuttings, tissue culture are even successful in jojoba. The current study was initiated to find out appropriate time of grafting and most responsive jojoba genotypefor asexual propagation.The female plants of five promising jojoba genotypes i.e. BRJ-5, BRJ-10, BRJ-22, BRJ-24 and BRJ-46 propagated through grafting, in the months of September and March during the year 2015-16 and 2016-17. The pooled analysis of the data revealed that the grafting practiced in the month of September performed better than in the month of March. The September grafting resulted in longer sprouts (18.49 cm) with more grafting success (74.43%) than that practiced in March. However, sprouts from March grafting took fewerdays to sprout (52.56) than that of September grafting (57.35 days). As far as the genotypeswas concerned, BRJ-22 surpassed theothers in taking minimum days (41.45) to sprout; attaining maximum sprout length (21.49 cm) and giving maximum success percentage (82.35). The study indicated that the optimum time of grafting for jojoba is the month of September and BRJ- 22 is the best suited strain for grafting.

Toxic Effects of Four Plant Essential Oils alone and in Combination with Controlled modified Atmosphere on the Cowpea Beetle Callosobruchus maculatus (Fabricius.) (Coleoptera: Bruchidae) under Laboratory Conditions

Four plant essential oils alone as repellent and fumigant, and in combination with the controlled modified atmospheres against the adult of cowpea weevil, Callosobruchus maculatus Fabricius (Coleoptera: Bruchidae) were assessed in the laboratory. These essential oils were extracted from the leaves of four source plants: Prunus amigdalus, Moringa oleifera, Simmondsia chinensis, and Ricinus communis. The repellency test indicated that C. maculatus adults were repelled by four essential oils. Of these essential oils, the P. amigdalus oil was most effective followed by M. oleifera, S. chinensis, and R. communis. The average repellency of the P. amigdalus oil against C. maculatus adults was significantly higher than the other three tested oils after 7 days. These essential oils had a high level of toxicity in the fumigation assay against C. maculatus adults. The results showed that P. amigdalus oil gave the highest toxicity at LC50 (2.08 ppm) and R. communis gave the lowest value of LC50 (55.05ppm). In results of the effectiveness of the four essential oils when combined with two controlled atmospheres concentrations, 12.5- 25% CO2, the toxicity of plant oils was enhanced significantly against C. maculatus adults. The results of joint toxic action indicated that at concentration 10 ppm of the four essential oils under modified atmospheres of 12.5 % CO2 produced an additive effect at all exposure periods, while in case of M. oleifera and S. chinensis gave additive effect at 3 and 5 days exposure periods. The same trend was found at the highest concentration 20 ppm of three essential oils P. amigdalus, M. oleifera, and S. chinensis under modified atmospheres of 12.5-25% CO2 and produced an additive effect at all exposure periods, while Co-toxicity values of 20 ppm R. communis essential oil after the various exposer periods showed antagonism effect against C. maculatus adults. In conclusion, the present study revealed that the combination of the four tested essential oils with CO2 enhanced its fumigant toxicity to stored product insect, cowpea beetle.

Transcriptome Analysis of Jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis) during Seed Development and Liquid Wax Ester Biosynthesis.

Jojoba is one of the main two known plant source of natural liquid wax ester for use in various applications, including cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and biofuel. Due to the lack of transcriptomic and genomic data on lipid biosynthesis and accumulation, molecular marker breeding has been used to improve jojoba oil production and quality. In the current study, the transcriptome of developing jojoba seeds was investigated using the Illunina NovaSeq 6000 system, 100 × 106 paired end reads, an average length of 100 bp, and a sequence depth of 12 Gb per sample. A total of 176,106 unigenes were detected with an average contig length of 201 bp. Gene Ontology (GO) showed that the detected unigenes were distributed in the three GO groups biological processes (BP, 5.53%), cellular component (CC, 6.06%), and molecular functions (MF, 5.88%) and distributed in 67 functional groups. The lipid biosynthesis pathway was established based on the expression of lipid biosynthesis genes, fatty acid (FA) biosynthesis, FA desaturation, FA elongation, fatty alcohol biosynthesis, triacylglycerol (TAG) biosynthesis, phospholipid metabolism, wax ester biosynthesis, and lipid transfer and storage genes. The detection of these categories of genes confirms the presence of an efficient lipid biosynthesis and accumulation system in developing jojoba seeds. The results of this study will significantly enhance the current understanding of wax ester biology in jojoba seeds and open new routes for the improvement of jojoba oil production and quality through biotechnology applications.

Characterization of Flowering Time and Pollen Production in Jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis) towards a Strategy for the Selection of Elite Male Genotypes

The seeds of the dioecious shrub jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis (Link) Schneider) yield a liquid wax that is in high demand for the cosmetics industry. While elite female cultivars of this species are currently clonally propagated, male plants are grown from seed, resulting in large variations in both the flowering period and the pollen viability, and hence large variation in yields. We characterized the existing male plant material in a local plantation as a platform for future selection of elite male cultivars that would produce sufficient amounts of viable pollen throughout the extended flowering period of the female cultivars. Using as a guide the number of viable pollen grains per 1-m branch, defined here as the calculated effective pollen productivity (EPP), we identified plants with an elevated EPP that flower concurrently with the female cultivars.

The genome of jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis): A taxonomically isolated species that directs wax ester accumulation in its seeds.

Seeds of the desert shrub, jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis), are an abundant, renewable source of liquid wax esters, which are valued additives in cosmetic products and industrial lubricants. Jojoba is relegated to its own taxonomic family, and there is little genetic information available to elucidate its phylogeny. Here, we report the high-quality, 887-Mb genome of jojoba assembled into 26 chromosomes with 23,490 protein-coding genes. The jojoba genome has only the whole-genome triplication (γ) shared among eudicots and no recent duplications. These genomic resources coupled with extensive transcriptome, proteome, and lipidome data helped to define heterogeneous pathways and machinery for lipid synthesis and storage, provided missing evolutionary history information for this taxonomically segregated dioecious plant species, and will support efforts to improve the agronomic properties of jojoba.

Improvement of Wax Oil Content of Embryonic Callus of Jojoba Using Gamma Radiation

Embryogenic callus was obtained from the leaf explants of jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis (Link) Schneider cultured on MS containing 0.5 mg/l NAA and 0.5 mg/l Kn. Growth of embryonic callus increased in 0.5 mg/l Kn + 6% sucrose. In order to improve oil content, the embryonic callus was exposed to different doses (5, 10 and 15 Kr) of gamma radiation. It was found that oil content of embryonic callus of jojoba increased 1.41% by exposing to 5 Kr gamma radiation. Also, size of oil bodies in embryonic callus irradiated with 5 Kr increased compared to control. Furthermore, production of the fatty acids was enhanced by gamma irradiation. The highest percentage of total fixed oil (1.41) was recorded in 5 Kr radiation. However, the highest content of total fatty acids (98.612) was obtained when embryonic callus were exposed to 10 Kr of gamma radiation.

Jojoba Oil (Simmondsia Chinensis) as a Natural Plasticizer for Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer Elastomers

Jojoba oil (JO) as natural plasticizer for EPDM rubber was studied and compared with paraffin oil (PO) at 5, 10 and 20 phr, using sulfur and peroxide crosslinking systems. Vulcanization curves for sulfur systems had the lowest torque value for JO, 26 dNm, whereas for PO was 60 dNm. For peroxide systems, the lowest torque value was for PO compounds, 18 dNm, whereas for JO was 21 dNm. Stress values for sulfur systems were 12-18 MPa, and for peroxide systems, 14-23 MPa; 23 MPa was for JO compounds . Highest crosslink density values were for sulfur systems with PO, >1000 mol/m3. TGA indicated volatilization of PO, 250-280 °C and for JO at 400 °C, evidencing better EPDM thermal stability with JO. Results showed greater plasticizing effect of JO when using sulfur as cross-linking agent, and its possible use as renewable plasticizer for EPDM, reducing the concentration of plasticizer in formulations.

Effect of Proline on Growth and Nutrient Uptake of Simmondsia chinensis (Link) Schneider under Salinity Stress.

Simmondsia chinensis (Link) Schneider grows as an important economic and medical plant in deserts. It suffers from salt stress during the first period of growth despite having to endure it after an advanced age. More than 30% of irrigated lands worldwide are destructively impacted by salt stress, which enormously influences the growth and productivity of several crops worldwide. Proline (Pro) aggregation has been correlated with salt tolerance. This treatise was conducted to evaluate the impact of Pro on the negative effects of salinity. In this experiment, sodium chloride (NaCl) (5 and 10 dS m-1) and Pro treatments (10 and 20 mM) were examined and then growth parameters, relative water content (RWC), chlorophyll and inorganic ion contents of jojoba plant were determined. Salt stress significantly minimized the growth parameters (i.e., plant height, branch number/plant, leaf number/plant and dry weight), RWC, chlorophyll and N+ and K+ contents, whereas Na+ and Cl- contents showed the opposite manner. Contrariwise, when Pro was applied at 10 and 20 mM, the adverse effects of salt stress on the previous parameters were mitigated; 20 mM Pro treatment showed superior effects compared with 10 mM treatment.

Synthesis and Characterization of Valacyclovir HCl Hybrid Solid Lipid Nanoparticles by Using Natural Oils.

The Jojoba Simmondsia Chinensis oil is used as one of the main ingredients which has an antioxidant, moisturizing and stabilizing activity. Likewise, grape seed (Vitis vinifera) oil is also used in this preparation which also has some remarkable medicinal properties such as antioxidant, astringent and is also used as a moisturizer. The Valacyclovir Solid Lipid Nanoparticles (SLN) are prepared in combination. The prime objective of the study was to prepare a nanodispersion with good stability indicating zeta potential. The formulations were prepared by varying concentrations of jojoba oil and grape seed oil which form the hybrid nanoparticles with the drug. The high-pressure hot-homogenization technique was used to prepare the nanoparticles. The prepared nanoparticles were subjected to characterization analysis such as Mean particle size, Zaverage, and Zeta potential by using Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) and Photon Correlation Spectroscopy (PCS). The best formulation was subjected to Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) technique for surface morphology and other characterizations. The crystalline pattern of the drug alone, drug-loaded nanoparticles and nanoparticles without the drug was studied by XRD. The drug excipients compatibility studies were performed by using Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) Differential Scanning Calorimetry and (DSC). The other factors such as in vitro drug release, and % drug entrapment efficiency were studied by using suitable methods. The results demonstrated that the particles are in nano range with good stability with appreciable Zeta potential (-48.2±mV). The selected formulations were analyzed for MPS which demonstrated the value of 306.7±183.4 and 416.5±289.3. The best formulation VNP5 demonstrated the Bellshaped curve and confirmed the uniform distribution. Based on the patents, it was demonstrated that valacyclovir is widely used in the treatment and prophylaxis of viral infections in human, particularly infections caused by the herpes group of viruses. Valacyclovir is an effective drug for the treatment of cold sores.

Effect of some Auxins and Spraying with Boron and Zinc on Air Layering of Jojoba [Simmondsia chinensis (Link) Schneider] Plants

Two fields experiments were carried out during two successive seasons of 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 at the private Farm in Ismailia Governorate, Nursery and Laboratory of Vegt. and Flori. Department Fac. of Agri. Damietta University. This research aimed to study the effect of foliar some micro nutrients [Boron (B) 0.2 g/L or Zinc (Zn) 0.2 g/L] and study the effect of auxins treatment (Indole butyric acid (IBA) 4000 ppm or Naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) 2000 ppm) in addition control treatment (distilled water) on root formation in layering of jojoba plants. Obtained results revealed that jojoba plants treated with foliar nutrient Zn 0.2 g/L with layers which wounding and treated with IBA at 4000 ppm gave the greatest value of rooting percentage, vegetative growth and chemical constituents.

Significance of nitrogen, phosphorus, and boron foliar spray on jojoba plants

BackgroundJojoba plants [Simmondsia chinensis (Link) Schneider] are appropriate to the semiarid regions; it has the ability to survive in a harsh desert environment and it is very drought-resistant and can be grown on marginal lands without replacing any existing crops. After that, Jojoba is a new oil-producing industrial crop, oil-producing cash crop, and has much of the interest in worldwide in recent years. So, processes are made to increase the seed yield of jojoba as requirements of essential fertilizer and evaluation of new clones. Two field experiments were conducted on five clones (S-BS-, S-700, 610, S-L, and S-G) aged 3 and 13 years from planting at North Sinai, Egypt on sandy soil to study the effect of foliar spray with nitrogen, phosphorus, and boron with three rates of NPB (00, NPB1 (N 1%, P 0.75%, and B 0.4%) and NPB2 (N 1.5%, P1.25% and B 0.8%)) on oil and other contents of jojoba plants.ResultsResults showed that all treatments improved the vegetative growth, yield, and seed quality. Concerning oil, weight of 100 seeds and oil percent in seeds with treatment NPB2 under clone S-700 gave the highest value for all study parameters.ConclusionsTherefore, for improving yield and seed quality, it could be recommended with foliar spray NPB2 (N1.5%, P 1.25%, and B0.8%) under the condition of this study on jojoba plants.

An integrated bioaugmentation/electrocoagulation concept for olive mill wastewater management and the reuse in irrigation of biofuel plants: a pilot study.

A consortium of highly degrading microorganisms was used in an integrated bioaugmentation/electrocoagulation process for treating olive mill wastewater. The system was investigated for treating 1m3day-1, at a pilot scale, for 2years; hydraulic loading rate and organic loading rate were 2880lm-2day-1 and 37,930g COD m-2day-1, respectively. Average removal efficiency for COD, oils, and total phenols was 63.9%, 85.2%, and 43.6%, respectively. The olive mill consortium, OMC, consisted of seven actinomycete strains. The strains were confirmed, by 16S rDNA analysis, to belong to five Streptomyces, one Kitasatospora, and one Micromonospora strains, at 100-99.06% similarities. Hydrolytic enzyme activities of OMC strains were remarkably higher for degrading cellulosic and lipid constituents (enzyme-cumulative indices, 14-16.1), than the phenolic constituents (indices, 4.1-6.5). The establishment of actinomycetes in the treatment system was indicated by their increased counts in the biofilm at the end of the biofilter, reaching 13-fold higher than that in the control bed. The treated effluent was toxic to the seedlings of Jatropha curcas (Jatropha) and Simmondsia chinensis (Jojoba). Though its application in irrigation of 3-year-old Jatropha shrubs, significantly, enhanced the fruit yield up to 1.85-fold higher than the control, without affecting the seed oil content, after 3-month application, the irrigated soil showed insignificant changes in its biochemical properties. This developed bioaugmentation/electrocoagulation process can treat wastewater with extremely high organic strength, while its approximate construction and operational costs are limited to 0.03 and 0.51 US$ m-3, respectively. It produces a treated effluent that can be reused in irrigation of specific plants. Graphical abstract.

Optimization of parameters for lipase production by Aspergillus niger NRRL-599 using response surface methodology

Background and objective Lipases are characterized to catalyze precise chemical transformation. That is they have widespread applications in detergents, cosmetics, food, organics synthesis, and pharmaceutical industries. In recent years, the study and development of lipase production in solid state fermentation, also using sequential statistical strategy as optimization for some vital factors are gaining more attention. This may be attributed to several advantages using techniques such as simplicity of fermentation media, no need for complex machinery. Equipment and control system, compactness of fermentation vessel due to lower water volume, high yields, less energy needed, and lower capital. Materials and methods Aspergillus niger NRRL-599 strain was tested for lipase production using different agroindustrial wastes including wheat bran, wheat germ cake oil, jojoba cake oil, almond cake oil, and olive oil as substrates under solid state fermentation. For further optimization, lipase activity was studied using two sequential optimization. Results and conclusion Olive oil waste was the most suitable substrate for lipase production (125 U/ml). Using one variable at a time, maximum lipase activity (200 U/ml) and specific enzyme activity (357.1 U/mg) were recorded in the presence of 5% w/v olive oil, 48 h inoculum age, 4% v/v inoculum size after 14 days fermentation at 30°C. The screening of the seven physiological factors using Plackett–Burman design showed that only three variables; that is tween 80, moisture content, and inoculum age affected significantly lipase production. Optimization by Box–Behnken design resulted in the highest lipase activity (420 U/ml) in which the most effective variables were inoculum size, inoculum age, moisture content, and tween 80 1%.

SRAP and SSR marker-assisted genetic diversity, population structure analysis and sex identification in Jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis)

Simmondsia chinensis (Link) Schneider, commonly known as Jojoba is a woody, dioecious shrub, cultivated all over the globe mainly for its commercially important seed oil (liquid wax ester). Investigations were carried out to analyze genetic diversity and population structure of 57 Jojoba genotypes belonging to 3 different eco-geographical regions of India (Gujarat, Jodhpur, and Jaipur) employing sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) and simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. SRAP markers produced higher mean values of polymorphic bands (6.22), polymorphism information content (PIC: 0.47), effective multiplex ration (EMR: 5.36) and marker index (MI: 2.59) compared to SSR markers (5.87, 0.38, 5.26 and 2.23 respectively). Higher % polymorphism (86.30%) and resolving power (RP: 8.76) were detected by SSR markers than SRAP markers (82.30% and 8.71 respectively). Total genetic diversity (Ht) and genetic diversity within populations (Hs) in Jojoba genotypes were found to be very high (0.47 and 0.45 respectively). AMOVA analysis also revealed higher genetic variation within populations (77%) than among populations (23%). Very low genetic differentiation (Gst: 0.04) and high gene flow (Nm: 10.57) among different populations were observed. The Jojoba population of Gujarat region was observed to be highly diverse (h: 0.48), and that of Jaipur was least polymorphic (h: 0.40). Jojoba male genotypes were found to be more polymorphic (h: 0.46) compared to females (h: 0.44). UPGMA, Neighbor-Joining tree, and population structure analysis divided Jojoba populations into two main clusters, first comprising of Gujarat and Jodhpur populations and second including Jaipur population. Genetic diversity in different Jojoba populations was found to be strongly negatively and significantly correlated with the longitude factor. For sex identification in Jojoba, one SRAP primer combination, 'Em14/Me10' amplified a DNA fragment of 396 bp specific to male genotypes of Jaipur population. This male-specific marker was further positively validated on different genotypes growing in Jodhpur and Gujarat regions and sequenced.

Increasing jojoba-like wax ester production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by enhancing very long-chain, monounsaturated fatty acid synthesis

BackgroundFatty acids (FAs) with a chain length of more than 18 carbon atoms (> C18) are interesting for the production of specialty compounds derived from these FAs. These compounds include free FAs, like erucic acid (C22:1-Δ13), primary fatty alcohols (FOHs), like docosanol (C22:0-FOH), as well as jojoba-like wax esters (WEs) (C38-WE to C44-WE), which are esters of (very) long-chain FAs and (very) long-chain FOHs. In particular, FAs, FOHs and WEs are used in the production of chemicals, pharmaceuticals and cosmetic products. Jojoba seed oil is highly enriched in diunsaturated WEs with over 70 mol% being composed of C18:1–C24:1 monounsaturated FOH and monounsaturated FA moieties. In this study, we aim for the production of jojoba-like WEs in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae by increasing the amount of very long-chain, monounsaturated FAs and simultaneously expressing enzymes required for WE synthesis.ResultsWe show that the combined expression of a plant-derived fatty acid elongase (FAE/KCS) from Crambe abyssinica (CaKCS) together with the yeast intrinsic fatty acid desaturase (FAD) Ole1p leads to an increase in C20:1 and C22:1 FAs in S. cerevisiae. We also demonstrate that the best enzyme candidate for C24:1 FA production in S. cerevisiae is a FAE derived from Lunaria annua (LaKCS). The combined overexpression of CaKCS and Ole1p together with a fatty acyl reductase (FAR/FAldhR) from Marinobacter aquaeolei VT8 (MaFAldhR) and a wax synthase (WS) from Simmondsia chinensis (SciWS) in a S. cerevisiae strain, overexpressing a range of other enzymes involved in FA synthesis and elongation, leads to a yeast strain capable of producing high amounts of monounsaturated FOHs (up to C22:1-FOH) as well as diunsaturated WEs (up to C46:2-WE).ConclusionsChanging the FA profile of the yeast S. cerevisiae towards very long-chain monounsaturated FAs is possible by combined overexpression of endogenous and heterologous enzymes derived from various sources (e.g. a marine copepod or plants). This strategy was used to produce jojoba-like WEs in S. cerevisiae and can potentially be extended towards other commercially interesting products derived from very long-chain FAs.