Functional Expression and Characterization of a Truncated Candida antarctica Lipase B in Yeast

Candida antarctica lipase B is an enzyme capable of hydrolyzing ester bonds in a lipid-water interface with potential to become a useful biocatalyst for production of biodiesel fuel. Enzymatically catalyzing the transesterification of triacylglycerides to produce fatty acid alkyl esters (biodiesel) is an environmentally cleaner alternative to the current process which utilizes chemical reagents as catalysts. Optimization and development of strains to express highly active, stable, large quantities of these biocatalysts is essential for inexpensive production of biodiesel. Additionally, lipase enzymes can be immobilized onto a resin, eliminating the need to recover the catalyst from the product and allowing multiple cycle use. An integrated biorefinery combining starch ethanol and cellulosic ethanol production in one location may become cost-effective if biodiesel is produced as a co-product in a single-step column transesterification of ethanol and corn oil catalyzed by these resin-bound, low-cost lipases expressed in a recombinant yeast strain capable of cellulosic ethanol production