Promoters for lipogenesis-specific downregulation in Yarrowia lipolytica

Yarrowia lipolytica is a non-conventional yeast with potential applications in the biofuel and biochemical industries. It is an oleaginous yeast that accumulates lipids when it encounters nutrient limitation in the presence of excess carbon. Its molecular toolbox includes promoters for robust constitutive expression, regulated expression through the addition of media components and inducible expression during lipid accumulation. To date, no promoters have been identified that lead to downregulation at the transition from growth to lipid accumulation. We identified four native Y. lipolytica promoters that downregulate the expression of genes at this natural transition. Using the fatty acid desaturase genes FAD2 and OLE1 as reporter genes for these promoters, we correlated repression of desaturase transcript levels with a reduction of desaturated fatty acids at the transition to lipid accumulation. These promoters can restrict to the growth phase an essential or favorable activity that is undesirable during lipid accumulation under traditional fermentation conditions without media additions. This expression pattern results in lipogenesis phase-specific changes that could be useful in applications relating to optimizing lipid yield and composition.