Terpenes are a large group of organic compounds produced by various microorganisms, plants and also some insects. Their biosynthesis is performed through the isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP) molecule, which is the main precursor for all terpenes. Terpenes are used as food supplements for humans and animals and in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry. Among terpenes are also carotenoids, which include lycopene. Lycopene is a red dye that has the highest antioxidant activity among all carotenoids. The yeast Yarrowia lipolytica is an interesting host for lycopene production as is capable of accumulating lipids in lipid droplets up to 20 % of its dry cell weight. Y. lipolytica does not produce lycopene naturally, as the potential biosynthetic path stops at the level of intermediate geranylgeranyl diphosphate. To divert metabolic pathway to synthesize lycopene genes crtE, crtB and crtI are required. These genes are coding enymes that catalyze production lycopene from geranylgeranyl diphosphate. In this study we assembled six plasmid constructs with the Golden Gate technique. Plasmids containing heterologous genes crtB, crtE and crtI were transformed into Y. lipolytica. We successfully screened transformants that synthesized lycopene and compared the production of lycopene in various production media. In the nitrogen-limited medium the production of lycopene was higher than in YEPD medium and in the medium with gylcerol as the carbon source.
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