Production Of Oleochemicals Research Articles

Research progress in bioconversion of C1 gases into oleochemicals

The utilization of C1 gases (CH4, CO2, and CO) for the production of oleochemicals applied in the energy and platform chemicals through microbial engineering has emerged as a promising approach to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and decrease dependence on fossil fuel. C1 gas-utilizing microorganisms, such as methanotrophs, microalgae, and acetogens, are capable of converting C1 gases as the sole substrates for cell growth and oleochemical synthesis with different carbon-chain lengths, garnering considerable attention from both scientific community and industry field for sustainable biomanufacturing. This paper comprehensively reviews recent advancements in the development of engineered cell factories utilizing C1 gases for the production of oleochemicals, elucidating the key metabolic pathways of biosynthesis. Furthermore, this paper highlights the research progress and prospects in optimizing gene expression, metabolic pathway reconstruction, and fermentation conditions for efficient oleochemical production from C1 gases. This review provides valuable insights and guidance for the efficient utilization of C1 gases and the development of carbon cycling-based bioeconomy.

High-throughput screening of non-conventional yeasts for conversion of organic waste to microbial oils via carboxylate platform

Converting waste into high-value products promotes sustainability by reducing waste and creating new revenue streams. This study investigates the potential of diverse yeasts for microbial oil production by utilizing short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) that can be produced from organic waste and focuses on identifying strains with the best SCFA utilisation, tolerance and lipid production. A collection of 1434 yeast strains was cultivated with SCFAs as the sole carbon source. Eleven strains emerged as candidates with promising growth rates and high lipid accumulation. Subsequent fermentation experiments in liquid SCFA-rich media, which focused on optimizing lipid accumulation by adjusting the carbon to nitrogen (C/N) ratio, showed an increase in lipid content at a C/N ratio of 200:1, but with a concurrent reduction in biomass. Two strains were characterized by their superior ability to produce lipids compared to the reference strain Yarrowia lipolytica CECT124: Y. lipolytica EXF-17398 and Pichia manshurica EXF-7849. Characterization of these two strains indicated that they exhibit a biotechnologically relevant balance between maximizing lipid yield and maintaining growth at high SCFA concentrations. These results emphasize the potential of using SCFAs as a sustainable feedstock for oleochemical production, offering a dual benefit of waste valorisation and microbial oil production.

A Comparative Study of the Physicochemical Properties of Oils Extracted from Common Species of the Niger Delta <i>Raphia </i>Palm Fruits and <i>Elaeis guineensis</i>

<i>Elaeis guineensis </i>oils (palm oil and palm kernel oil) are versatile ingredients widely used in food applications as well as in the industrial production of biofuels and other oleochemicals. Global demand for <i>Elaeis guineensis </i>oils is increasing and has surpassed other vegetable oils. In many nations such as Nigeria, the demand outweighs the supply. Consequently, the prices of the oils have been relatively high and there is high demand for land for the cultivation of the palms. However,<i> Elaeis guineensis cultivation</i> has been noted for several environmental, climatic and social challenges. Based on these reasons, concerted efforts are being made to search for a promising feedstock that can either be used in conjunction with or as an alternative to <i>Elaeis guineensis </i>oils. In this study, oils were extracted from the mesocarp of common species of the Niger Delta <i>Raphia</i> palm fruits (<i>Raphia</i> <i>farinifera</i>, <i>Raphia hookeri</i> and <i>Raphia</i> <i>vinifera</i>) as wells as the mesocarp and kernel of <i>Elaeis guineensis </i>fruits. The potentials of using each of the <i>Raphia</i> palm oils as an alternative to <i>Elaeis guineensis </i>oils were evaluated based on standard physiochemical properties obtained using standard analytical techniques. The study showed that oils extracted from common species of the Niger Delta <i>Raphia</i> palm fruits and are very similar to <i>Elaeis guineensis </i>oils in many aspects. However, most of the physiochemical properties results showed that oils extracted from common species of the Niger Delta <i>Raphia</i> palm fruits are more suited as replacement to <i>Elaeis guineensis </i>oils in the production of biofuels and other oleochemicals than for food or edibility purposes.

Combination of addition and activation of lipase enzyme in peanut seed (Arachis hypogaea L.) for direct fatty acid production

Fatty acids are oleochemical products that are widely used as raw materials in various industries. Fatty acids are obtained from various plants and animals, one of which is peanuts. Peanuts contain 76% - 82% unsaturated fatty acids and the rest is saturated fatty acids. The purpose of this study is to produce fatty acids by turning on the peanut seed’s lipase enzyme. In this study, the addition of immobilized lipase enzyme as much as 0.1% of the sample mass was also carried out. This research method was carried out by grinding peanut seeds using a chopper with variations in the addition of water and variations in reaction time at 35 °C and 30 °C. The mixture of peanut seeds and water is then separated using a hand press, then heated to evaporate the water content. Furthermore, the resulting peanut oil was tested for fatty acid content, density, viscosity, and pH. From this study, the highest fatty acid content was obtained at 10.73% which was achieved at 35 °C and at a reaction time of 6 hours with the addition of enzymes and the addition of 40% water, while the result obtained without the addition of enzymes at the same conditions was 4.51%.

Highly selective production of high purity methyl oleate biodiesel by silver-based deep eutectic solvent extraction

High-purity methyl oleate is one of the important oleo-chemical products with a wide range of applications (e.g., biodiesel). In this study, an efficient extraction method based on a silver-based deep eutectic solvent (Ag-DES) has been developed for separating high purity (>98 %) methyl oleate from unsaturated fatty acid methyl esters (e.g., camellia seed oil methyl esters). The rapid extraction method involving silver ions can selectively separate the unsaturated fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) by forming C = C double bond complexes with the unsaturated FAMEs. Ag-DES exhibited highly selectivity towards monounsaturated FAMEs (C18:1) and polyunsaturated FAMEs (C18:2, C18:3). The extraction conditions of Ag-DES were optimized and its recyclability was investigated. Under the optimal conditions (room temperature extraction for 10 min), the yield of high-purity methyl oleate (98.5 %) was greater than 60 %, while the selectivity of methyl oleate reached 48.07. The Ag-DES could be successfully recycled for 5 times without loss of extraction selectivity. Thus, this sustainable extraction can provide a simple method for producing a biodiesel with excellent oxidative stability.

Biotechnological Camelina platform for green sustainable oleochemicals production

Climate change is forcing our societies to undertake socioeconomic changes to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, primarily carbon dioxide, which continue to rise globally. Governments are applying policies to offset carbon emissions, despite the significant economic impact. Biotechnology offers solutions to dampen this impact, particularly in agriculture and industry, where plant biotechnology enhances production efficiency while reducing environmental impact. Camelina sativa, a climate-flexible oilseed crop with low agronomical exigence, offers promising alternatives to petroleum-derived oils. Oil derived from camelina seeds has the potential to substitute petroleum as the feedstock for the production of oleochemicals, which are compounds derived from vegetable or animal oils and/or petrochemical feedstock. The deep knowledge of the camelina genome, together with the optimized process to obtain genetically engineered camelina lines with on-demand modified oils, makes this oilseed crop a workhorse to counteract the environmental impact derived from human activity.

Biorefinery-centric ethanol and oleochemical production employing Yarrowia lipolytica and Pichia farinosa

The research examined the capabilities of Yarrowia lipolytica (YL) and Pichia farinosa (PF) in converting sugars to ethanol and oleochemicals. Lipid, ethanol, protein yield and gene-expressions were analysed at different substrate concentrations (3 to 30 g/L) with glucose, food waste, and fermentation-effluent. Optimal results were obtained at 20 g/L using both synthetic carbon with 4.6 % of total lipid yield. Lauric and Caprylic acid dominance was noted in total lipid fractions. Protein accumulation (6 g/L) was observed in glucose system (20 g/L) indicating yeast strains potential as single-cell proteins (SCP). Fatty-acid desaturase (FAD12) and alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) expressions were higher at optimum condition of YL (1.15 × 10−1, 3.8 × 10−2) and PF (5.8 × 10−2, 3.8 × 10−2) respectively. Maximum carbon reduction of 87 % depicted at best condition, aligning with metabolic yield. These findings highlights promising role of yeast as biorefinery biocatalyst.

Emulsifier Dari Minyak Pliek U Dengan Reaksi Gliserolisis Menggunakan NButanol Sebagai Co-Solvent Dan Katalis MgO

Emulsifiers or emulsifying agents are one of the oleochemical products that have high economic value. One of the alternative ingredients that can be used as emulsifiers is Aceh palm oil (pliek u oil). In this study n-Butanol solvent is used which can increase the solubility of oil in glycerol so that the glycerolysis reaction can be carried out at low temperatures. This study aims to determine the effect of temperature and solvent ratio on the emulsifier produced. The catalyst used in the reaction is MgO (4% of oil weight), where the test variables used are reaction temperature (70, 80, 90, and 100◦C), 2 hours contact time, and the ratio of n-butanol to oil ( 1: 1, 1: 2, 1: 3 and 1: 4 v / v). The analysis was carried out in the form of an analysis of decreased levels of free fatty acids (ALB) by acid-base titration and Hydrophilic Lipophilic Balance (HLB) analysis to determine the type of emulsifier produced. The results showed that the greatest decrease in free fatty acid levels was found in the solvent to oil ratio of 1: 4 (v / v), and the temperature of 100◦C was 91.26%. The resulting HLB value of 19.68 is categorized into oil in water (o / w). The results obtained from this study indicate that pliek oil can be used as raw material for making emulsifiers using n-Butanol solvent and MgO catalyst.

Optimization of Rhodococcus erythropolis JCM3201T Nutrient Media to Improve Biomass, Lipid, and Carotenoid Yield Using Response Surface Methodology.

The oleaginous bacterium Rhodococcus erythropolis JCM3201T offers various unique enzyme capabilities, and it is a potential producer of industrially relevant compounds, such as triacylglycerol and carotenoids. To develop this strain into an efficient production platform, the characterization of the strain's nutritional requirement is necessary. In this work, we investigate its substrate adaptability. Therefore, the strain was cultivated using nine nitrogen and eight carbon sources at a carbon (16 g L-1) and nitrogen (0.16 g L-1) weight ratio of 100:1. The highest biomass accumulation (3.1 ± 0.14 g L-1) was achieved using glucose and ammonium acetate. The highest lipid yield (156.7 ± 23.0 mg g-1DCW) was achieved using glucose and yeast extract after 192 h. In order to enhance the dependent variables: biomass, lipid and carotenoid accumulation after 192 h, for the first time, a central composite design was employed to determine optimal nitrogen and carbon concentrations. Nine different concentrations were tested. The center point was tested in five biological replicates, while all other concentrations were tested in duplicates. While the highest biomass (8.00 ± 0.27 g L-1) was reached at C:N of 18.87 (11 g L-1 carbon, 0.583 g L-1 nitrogen), the highest lipid yield (100.5 ± 4.3 mg g-1DCW) was determined using a medium with 11 g L-1 of carbon and only 0.017 g L-1 of nitrogen. The highest carotenoid yield (0.021 ± 0.001 Abs454nm mg-1DCW) was achieved at a C:N of 12 (6 g L-1 carbon, 0.5 g L-1 nitrogen). The presented results provide new insights into the physiology of R. erythropolis under variable nutritional states, enabling the selection of an optimized media composition for the production of valuable oleochemicals or pigments, such as rare odd-chain fatty acids and monocyclic carotenoids.

AcCRISPR: an activity-correction method for improving the accuracy of CRISPR screens

High throughput CRISPR screens are revolutionizing the way scientists unravel the genetic underpinnings of engineered and evolved phenotypes. One of the critical challenges in accurately assessing screening outcomes is accounting for the variability in sgRNA cutting efficiency. Poorly active guides targeting genes essential to screening conditions obscure the growth defects that are expected from disrupting them. Here, we develop acCRISPR, an end-to-end pipeline that identifies essential genes in pooled CRISPR screens using sgRNA read counts obtained from next-generation sequencing. acCRISPR uses experimentally determined cutting efficiencies for each guide in the library to provide an activity correction to the screening outcomes via calculation of an optimization metric, thus determining the fitness effect of disrupted genes. CRISPR-Cas9 and -Cas12a screens were carried out in the non-conventional oleaginous yeast Yarrowia lipolytica and acCRISPR was used to determine a high-confidence set of essential genes for growth under glucose, a common carbon source used for the industrial production of oleochemicals. acCRISPR was also used in screens quantifying relative cellular fitness under high salt conditions to identify genes that were related to salt tolerance. Collectively, this work presents an experimental-computational framework for CRISPR-based functional genomics studies that may be expanded to other non-conventional organisms of interest.

Design of a New Chemoenzymatic Process for Producing Epoxidized Monoalkyl Esters from Used Soybean Cooking Oil and Fusel Oil

The aim of this study was to produce epoxidized monoalkyl esters (EMAE), a valuable class of oleochemicals used in a wide range of products and industries, from used soybean cooking oil (USCO) and fusel oil via a three-step chemoenzymatic process. This process consists of a first enzymatic hydrolysis of USCO to produce free fatty acids (FFA). Here, five microbial lipases with different specificities were tested as biocatalysts. Full hydrolysis of USCO was obtained after a 180 min reaction time under vigorous stirring (1500 rpm) using a non-specific lipase from Candida rugosa (CRL). Then, monoalkyl esters (MAE) were produced via the esterification of FFA and fusel oil in a solvent-free system using the lipase Eversa® Transform 2.0 (ET2.0) immobilized via physical adsorption on poly(styrenene-divinylbenzene) (PSty-DVB) beads as a biocatalyst. Different water removal strategies (closed and open reactors in the presence or absence of molecular sieves at 5% m.m−1) on the reaction were evaluated. Maximum FFA conversions of 64.3 ± 2.3% (open reactor after a 30 min reaction time) and 73.5 ± 0.4% (closed reactor after a 45 min reaction time) were observed at 40 °C, using a stoichiometric FFA:fusel oil molar ratio (1:1), without molecular sieves, and 5 mg of immobilized protein per gram of reaction mixture. Under these conditions, maximum FFA conversion was only 30.2 ± 2.7% after a 210 min reaction time in a closed reactor using soluble lipase. Reusability tests showed better retention of the original activity of immobilized ET2.0 (around 82%) after eight successive batches of esterification reactions conducted in an open reactor. Finally, the produced MAE was epoxidized via the Prilezhaev reaction, a classical chemical epoxidation process, using hydrogen peroxide and formic acid as a homogeneous catalyst. The products were characterized by standard methods and identified using proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR). Maximum unsaturated bond conversions into epoxy groups were at approximately 33%, with the experimental epoxy oxygen content (OOCexp.) at 1.75–1.78%, and selectivity (S) at 0.81, using both MAEs produced (open or closed reactors). These results show that this new process is a promising approach for value-added oleochemical production from low-cost and renewable raw materials.

Secretory expression of β-1,3-glucomannanase in the oleaginous yeast Rhodosporidium toruloides for improved lipid extraction

Lipids produced by oleaginous yeasts are considered as sustainable sources for the production of biofuels and oleochemicals. The red yeast Rhodosporidium toruloides can accumulate lipids to over 70% of its dry cell mass. To facilitate lipid extraction, a recombinant β-1,3-glucomannanase, MAN5C, has been applied to partially breakdown R. toruloides cell wall. In this study, R. toruloides NP11 was engineered for secretory expression of MAN5C to simplify the lipid extraction process. Specifically, a cassette contained a codon-optimized gene MAN5C was integrated into the genome of R. toruloides by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. The engineered strain NP11-MAN5C was found with proper expression and secretion of active MAN5C, yet no notable compromise in terms of cell growth and lipid production. When NP11-MAN5C cell cultures were extracted with ethyl acetate without any pretreatment, 20% of total lipids were recovered, 4.3-fold higher than that of the parental strain NP11. When the cells were heat-treated followed by extraction with ethyl acetate in the presence of the culture broth supernatants, up to 93% of total lipids were recovered, confirming beneficial effects of MAN5C produced in situ. This study provides a new strategy to engineer oleaginous yeasts for more viable lipid extraction and down-stream processes.Graphical

Screening of the bio-decolorization ability of synthetic dyes and the degradation of hydrocarbon bacteria Serratia marcescens MBC1

Humans are inseparable from using hydrocarbons, including fossil fuels, dyes, and oleochemical products. This has frequently resulted in a high possibility of waste spills polluting the environment. A biological approach using microbes was used to facilitate many of these countermeasures. This study aimed to determine the ability of the bacterium Serratia marcescens MBC 1 isolate as a biodegradation agent for various hydrocarbons and a bio-decolorizing agent for synthetic dyes. The bacterial growth media used were solid and tryptic soy broth. Methylene blue, congo red, methyl red, methyl orange, and crystal violet were synthetic dyes at a concentration per million. Within 7 days, several synthetic dyes tested showed decolorization. Methylene blue has the fastest decolorization time, taking just 24 h. The lipase index method was used to assess the propensity of hydrocarbons to degrade qualitatively. Kerosene had the highest lipolytic index at 6.31, followed by used cooking oil at 5.48 index, used lubricant at 5.37 and diesel at 3.63 index. Quantitative and comprehensive in-depth testing of the potential achievements of this initial test will be used in solving environmental problems that may occur further, especially related to the impact of the use of synthetic dyes.

Engineering Pseudomonas putida KT2440 for chain length tailored free fatty acid and oleochemical production

Despite advances in understanding the metabolism of Pseudomonas putida KT2440, a promising bacterial host for producing valuable chemicals from plant-derived feedstocks, a strain capable of producing free fatty acid-derived chemicals has not been developed. Guided by functional genomics, we engineered P. putida to produce medium- and long-chain free fatty acids (FFAs) to titers of up to 670 mg/L. Additionally, by taking advantage of the varying substrate preferences of paralogous native fatty acyl-CoA ligases, we employed a strategy to control FFA chain length that resulted in a P. putida strain specialized in producing medium-chain FFAs. Finally, we demonstrate the production of oleochemicals in these strains by synthesizing medium-chain fatty acid methyl esters, compounds useful as biodiesel blending agents, in various media including sorghum hydrolysate at titers greater than 300 mg/L. This work paves the road to produce high-value oleochemicals and biofuels from cheap feedstocks, such as plant biomass, using this host.

On the duration of trade competitiveness: the case of the Malaysian palm-based oleochemical industry

The Covid-19 pandemic has led to a surge in demand for oleochemicals, due to the increased demand for cleaning and disinfectants products. Since Malaysia is one of the world's largest palm oil producers, the demand for oleochemicals will be a key driver supporting the Malaysian palm oil industry. Palm oil is used in millions of products, from foods to soaps, personal care products cosmetics, and biodiesel feedstock. Currently, palm oil related exports are still highly dependent on the upstream segments such as crude palm oil (CPO), with a total contribution to the overall industry of 81.4%. In comparison, that downstream contribution is still low at about 18.6%. It is thus important to expand the production and export of high-value-added palm oil downstream products, including oleochemicals products. Therefore, this study aims to assess Malaysia's relative competitiveness in oleochemical products as compared to the main oil and fat producing countries - namely Indonesia, China, the European Union (EU) member states, the United States and Argentina. We examine the trade competitiveness by using the Revealed Trade Advantage (RTA) developed by Vollrath (1991) and utilizing yearly data spanning from 1999 until 2019. We also analyze the duration of comparative advantage using Kaplan-Meier Analysis. The results indicate that Malaysia has higher and more stable trade advantages relative to other main producers of oleochemical products.

Shift‐share Analyses of Malaysia’s Export Competitiveness: The Case of Oleochemical Products

Palm oil is the most commonly used edible oil globally and is found in many consumer products. In Malaysia, this industry is one of the key economic drivers of the Malaysian economy. Despite the recent covid-19 pandemic year, Malaysia's palm oil industry has faced challenges from reduced demand from China, as well as unfavourable prices.

Metabolome and Transcriptome Profiling Reveal Carbon Metabolic Flux Changes in Yarrowia lipolytica Cells to Rapamycin.

Yarrowia lipolytica is an oleaginous yeast for the production of oleochemicals and biofuels. Nitrogen deficiency is beneficial to lipids biosynthesis in Y. lipolytica. Target of rapamycin (TOR) regulates the utilization of nutrients, which is inhibited in nitrogen starvation or by rapamycin treatment. However, under nitrogen-rich conditions, the lipids biosynthesis in Y. lipolytica after inhibition of TOR by rapamycin is elusive. Combining metabolomics and transcriptomics analysis, we found that rapamycin altered multiple metabolic processes of Y. lipolytica grown in nitrogen-rich medium, especially the metabolisms of amino acids and lipids. A total of 176 differentially accumulated metabolites were identified after rapamycin treatment. Rapamycin increased the levels of tryptophan, isoleucine, proline, serine, glutamine, histidine, lysine, arginine and glutamic acid, and decreased the levels of threonine, tyrosine and aspartic acid. Two fatty acids in lipid droplets, stearic acid (down-regulated) and stearidonic acid (up-regulated), were identified. The expression of 2224 genes changed significantly after rapamycin treatment. Further analysis revealed that rapamycin reduced carbon flux through lipids biosynthesis, accompanied by increased carbon flux through fatty acids degradation and amino acid (especially glutamic acid, glutamine, proline and arginine) biosynthesis. The dataset provided here is valuable for understanding the molecular mechanisms of amino acid and lipids metabolisms in oleaginous yeast.

Recent advances in the conversion of waste cooking oil into value-added products: A review

Waste cooking oil (WCO) is largely generated and disposed into the environment, especially in China and India, making it one of the largest pollutants in the environment. The disposal of high loads of WCO is causing many detrimental environmental problems, including blockages in the sewer, hindrance of sewage pretreatment at wastewater treatment plants, as well as water and soil pollution if WCO is dumped into municipal solid waste landfills. The most common solution to the aforementioned problems is to utilise WCO in biodiesel synthesis. Recently, owing to the similar properties of WCO to vegetable oils, the oleochemical potential of WCO has also been examined to explore its suitability to replace vegetable oils in the production of various oleochemicals. In this regard, the utilisation of WCO as a cheap feedstock to synthesise animal feed, green solvents, fermentative products, grease, biolubricant, etc. is promising and can be performed using existing technologies. Therefore, aside from the usage as energy sources, these applications have provided a secondary use to WCO which mitigate the adverse effects caused by WCO. The subsidies and financial support in major WCO producing countries are significant in pursuing the advancement of the current regulatory frameworks for WCO collection, transportation, and utilisation. Technological advancements via intensified approaches are not only upgrading WCOs recycling more efficiently but also allowing greater working flexibility. This review highlights the challenges in using WCO for producing value-added products and its future prospects.

Metabolic engineering strategies to produce medium-chain oleochemicals via acyl-ACP:CoA transacylase activity

Microbial lipid metabolism is an attractive route for producing oleochemicals. The predominant strategy centers on heterologous thioesterases to synthesize desired chain-length fatty acids. To convert acids to oleochemicals (e.g., fatty alcohols, ketones), the narrowed fatty acid pool needs to be reactivated as coenzyme A thioesters at cost of one ATP per reactivation - an expense that could be saved if the acyl-chain was directly transferred from ACP- to CoA-thioester. Here, we demonstrate such an alternative acyl-transferase strategy by heterologous expression of PhaG, an enzyme first identified in Pseudomonads, that transfers 3-hydroxy acyl-chains between acyl-carrier protein and coenzyme A thioester forms for creating polyhydroxyalkanoate monomers. We use it to create a pool of acyl-CoA’s that can be redirected to oleochemical products. Through bioprospecting, mutagenesis, and metabolic engineering, we develop three strains of Escherichia coli capable of producing over 1 g/L of medium-chain free fatty acids, fatty alcohols, and methyl ketones.

Shifting the distribution: modulation of the lipid profile in Yarrowia lipolytica via iron content.

Microbial fermentation offers a sustainable source of fuels, commodity chemicals, and pharmaceuticals, yet strain performance is influenced greatly by the growth media selected. Specifically, trace metals (e.g., iron, copper, manganese, zinc, and others) are critical for proper growth and enzymatic function within microorganisms yet are non-standardized across media formulation. In this work, the effect of trace metal supplementation on the lipid production profile of Yarrowia lipolytica was explored using tube scale fermentation followed by biomass and lipid characterization. Addition of iron (II) to the chemically defined Yeast Synthetic Complete (YSC) medium increased final optical density nearly twofold and lipid production threefold, while addition of copper (II) had no impact. Additionally, dose-responsive changes in lipid distribution were observed, with the percent of oleic acid increasing and stearic acid decreasing as initial iron concentration increased. These changes were reversible with subsequent iron-selective chelation. Use of rich Yeast Peptone Dextrose (YPD) medium enabled further increases in the production of two specialty oleochemicals ultimately reaching 63 and 47% of the lipid pool as α-linolenic acid and cyclopropane fatty acid, respectively, compared to YSC medium. Selective removal of iron (II) natively present in YPD medium decreased this oleochemical production, ultimately aligning the lipid profile with that of non-supplemented YSC medium. These results provide further insight into the proposed mechanisms for iron regulation in yeasts especially as these productions strains contain a mutant allele of the iron regulator, mga2. The work presented here also suggests a non-genetic method for control of the lipid profile in Y. lipolytica for use in diverse applications. KEY POINTS: • Iron supplementation increases cell density and lipid titer in Yarrowia lipolytica. • Iron addition reversibly alters lipid portfolio increasing linolenic acid. • Removal of iron from YPD media provides a link to enhanced oleochemical production.