In Vivo Olefin Metathesis in Microalgae Upgrades Lipids to Building Blocks for Polymers and Chemicals

Sustainable sources are key to future chemicals production. Microalgae are promising resources as they fixate carbon dioxide to organic molecules by photosynthesis. Thereby they produce unsaturated fatty acids as established raw materials for the industrial production of chemical building blocks. Although these renewable feedstocks are generated inside cells, their catalytic upgrading to useful products requires in vitro transformations. A synthetic catalysis inside photoautotrophic cells has remained elusive. Here we show that a catalytic conversion of renewable substrates can be realized directly inside living microalgae. Organometallic catalysts remain active inside the cells, enabling in vivo catalytic olefin metathesis as new-to-nature transformation. Stored lipids are converted to long-chain dicarboxylates as valuable building blocks for polymers. This is a key step towards the long-term goal of producing desired renewable chemicals in microalgae as living "cellular factories".