(176w) High-Level Expression of Extracellular Lipases in Pichia Pastoris for Butyl Butyrate Production

Today, metabolic and evolutionary engineering will be used to develop robust strains that can efficiently produce butyric acid and butanol from both glucose and xylose present in lignocellulose hydrolysates. In the present study, several known yeast lipases were cloned and expressed in Pichia pastoris. The effects of different vectors and promotors on the expression levels were studied. These lipases were characterized for their reaction rate, specificity, and stability under different pHs and temperatures. The best lipase was used for the esterification of butyric acid and butanol to produce butyl butyrate in a bioreactor with simultaneous solvent extraction in a two-phase system as well as with a membrane extractor.