Non-conventional yeasts such as Yarrowia lipolytica, Pichia pastoris, Kluyveromyces marxianus, Rhodosporidium toruloides and Hansenula polymorpha have proven to be efficient cell factories in producing a variety of natural products due to their wide substrate utilization spectrum, strong tolerance to environmental stresses and other merits. With the development of synthetic biology and gene editing technology, metabolic engineering tools and strategies for non-conventional yeasts are expanding. This review introduces the physiological characteristics, tool development and current application of several representative non-conventional yeasts, and summarizes the metabolic engineering strategies commonly used in the improvement of natural products biosynthesis. We also discuss the strengths and weaknesses of non-conventional yeasts as natural products cell factories at current stage, and prospects future research and development trends.
Yeasts/genetics* ; Yarrowia/metabolism* ; Gene Editing ; Metabolic Engineering

Over the past 30 years, Yarrowia lipolytica, Kluyveromyces, Pichia, Candida, Hansenula and other non-conventional yeasts have attracted wide attention because of their desirable phenotypes, such as rapid growth, capability of utilizing multiple substrates, and stress tolerance. A variety of synthetic biology tools are being developed for exploitation of their unique phenotypes, making them potential cell factories for the production of recombinant proteins and renewable bio-based chemicals. This review summarizes the gene editing tools and the metabolic engineering strategies recently developed for non-conventional yeasts. Moreover, the challenges and future perspectives for developing non-conventional yeasts into efficient cell factories for the production of useful products through metabolic engineering are discussed.
Gene Editing ; Metabolic Engineering ; Pichia/genetics* ; Synthetic Biology ; Yarrowia/genetics* ; Yeasts

Using the polymmerse chain reaction (PCR), we amplified the phytase gene phyA from Pichia pastoris GS115-phyA in Aspergillus niger NRRL3135 without the signal peptide sequence and intron sequence,. Then, it was cloned into pINA1297 vector to generate a recombinant vector of pINA1297-phyA. pINA1297-phyA was linearized and transformed into Yarrowia lipolytica po1h by the lithium acetate method. The positive transformants were obtained by YNB(casa) and PPB plates, after induced in YM medium at 28 degrees C for 6 day. The activity of the expressed phytase phyA reached 636.23 U/mL. The molecular weight of the enzyme was 130 kDa measured with SDS-PAGE analysis, whereas its molecular size reduced to 51 kDa after deglycosylation which is correspond with theoretical value. The enzymatic analysis of the recombinant phytase phyA revealed its optimal pH and temperature was 5.5 and 55 degrees C, which had high activity after incubated in pH ranged from 2.0 to 8.0 for 1 h. Moreover, its activity remained 86.08% after exposure to 90 degrees C for 10 min. It also was resistant to pepsin or trypsin treatment.
6-Phytase ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Aspergillus niger ; genetics ; metabolism ; Pichia ; enzymology ; genetics ; Recombinant Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Yarrowia ; genetics ; metabolism