Adaptive Laboratory Evolution and Carbon/Nitrogen Imbalance Promote High-Yield Ammonia Release in <i>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</i>
Ammonia, essential for fertilizers and energy storage, is mainly produced through the energy-demanding Haber–Bosch process. Microbial production offers a sustainable alternative, but natural yeast cells have not yet demonstrated success. This study aimed to enhance ammonia production in <i>Sac...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Microorganisms |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/2/268 |
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| Summary: | Ammonia, essential for fertilizers and energy storage, is mainly produced through the energy-demanding Haber–Bosch process. Microbial production offers a sustainable alternative, but natural yeast cells have not yet demonstrated success. This study aimed to enhance ammonia production in <i>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</i> by optimizing amino acid utilization through its deamination metabolism. Adaptive laboratory evolution is a method for rapidly generating desirable phenotypes through metabolic and transcriptional reorganization. We applied it to the efficiently fermenting <i>S. cerevisiae</i> strain CEN.PK113-7D using an unbalanced carbon/nitrogen medium to impose selective pressure. We selected several evolved strains with a 3–5-fold increase in amino acid utilization and ammonia secretion. The multi-step bioreactor strategy of the evolved strain AAV6, supplemented with concentrated nitrogen sources, resulted in the production of 1.36 g/L of ammonia, a value in line with levels produced by other microbial systems. This proof-of-concept study suggests that yeast-based processes can be adapted straightforwardly to ammonia production from high-protein waste derived from several sources. |
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| ISSN: | 2076-2607 |