Yeast Cell Factories for Chemicals

The CRISPR-Cas9 revolution took genome engineering to a new level. We have developed a genetic toolbox that utilizes homologous recombination and CRISPR-Cas9 for user-friendly, modular, standardized engineering of laboratory and industrial strains of yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Without prior training, users at all levels have been able to create their first Do-It-Yourself yeast cell factories within 2 weeks. The protocols are suitable for automation, thus by-passing the requirement for human involvement in strain construction.
Taking advantage of this toolbox, the general iterative metabolic engineering approach and laboratory evolution, we have constructed yeast cell factories for production of 3-hydroxypropionic acid, p-coumaric acid, flavonoids, and stilbenes. We also created industrial yeast strains with tolerance to biomass feedstocks for applications in 2^nd generation biorefineries.