Lipomyces example species L. starkeyi NRRL Y-11558. 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.