Lipomyces starkeyi 11558, a close relative of Lipomyces doorenjongii. Image Credit: Kyle Pomraning, Pacific Northwest National Lab.

Lipomyces species are soil dwelling ascomycetous yeasts, belonging to the order Saccharomycetales, that are capable of saccharifying and consuming plant-derived sugars. They are also an emerging platform for production of microbial oils and oleochemicals due to their ability to accumulate carbon as high concentrations of lipids. Many Lipomyces species exhibit tolerance to inhibitors present in hydrolysate from thermochemically treated lignocellulosic feedstocks, and rapidly convert hexose and pentose sugars as well as mixed carbon waste feedstocks. We are sequencing Lipomyces strains not only to further define the metabolic repertoire and inhibitor resistance of these robust yeasts and enable prediction of genotype to phenotype relationships, but also to cover the breadth of the genus and improve the depth of genomes available for the model species L. starkeyi.