Alternative feedstock for precision fermentation of oil

Sun Bear Bioworks的使命是通过精确发酵来重新构想农业，为食品、化妆品、医疗和燃料行业生产更健康、可持续的日常原料。从清洗液到饼干，一半的超市产品都使用棕榈油及其衍生物。它的用途非常广泛，但它的生产导致了热带地区的高度森林砍伐。这对生物多样性和全球碳足迹来说都是一个巨大的问题。我们正在研究一种棕榈油替代品，保留了棕榈油的所有优点，但没有可持续性问题和更健康的化学成分。精密发酵包括利用微生物将原料转化为所需产品。它广泛应用于制药业，是胰岛素的生产方法。通常使用的原料是糖，因为它是微生物最容易处理的物质。不幸的是，使用糖作为原料并不是一个可扩展的解决方案——它需要大面积的作物生长来支持它的使用，而且成本太高，无法让产品与现有的选择竞争。我们的项目是使用秸秆等农作物残渣作为替代原料。我们将使用酵母将这种原料转化为棕榈油替代品。植物材料主要由纤维素和木质素组成。这些含有长链连接的葡萄糖分子，结合在一个坚固的结构中。如果我们能够获得单个葡萄糖分子并分解植物材料，这种材料提供了一种现成的、可持续的原料，而无需种植任何额外的作物。这个过程已经通过水解实现，使用热量和化学物质。虽然比使用主要作物提炼的糖更可持续，但它需要大量的能量和强酸。我们将通过生产分解纤维素和木质素所需的酶来修改我们的酵母菌株，使其直接与植物材料一起工作。我们的最终产品是一种多用途的植物油，它需要最少的土地或碳影响来种植。

Sun Bear Bioworks is on a mission to reimagine farming with precision fermentation to produce healthier and sustainable everyday ingredients for the food, cosmetics, medical and fuel industries.Palm oil and its derivatives are used in half of all supermarket products, from cleaning fluids to cookies. It is incredibly versatile, but its production results in high levels of deforestation in the tropics. This is a huge problem for biodiversity and for our global carbon footprint. We are commencing our work with a palm oil alternative, retaining all the benefits of palm oil minus the sustainability issues and a healthier chemical profile.Precision fermentation involves using microorganisms to convert a feedstock into the desired product. It is widespread in pharmaceuticals, and is the production method for insulin. Conventionally the feedstock used is sugar, as it is the easiest substance for the microorganism to work with. Unfortunately, using sugar as a feedstock is not a scalable solution - it requires a large area of crop growth to support its use, and is too costly to allow products to compete with existing options.Our project is to use crop residue, such as straw, as an alternative feedstock. We will use yeast to convert this feedstock into a palm oil substitute.Plant material consists mainly of cellulose and lignin. These contain long chains of linked glucose molecules, bound up in a strong structure. This material provides a readily available, sustainable feedstock without having to grow any additional crops, if we are able to access the individual glucose molecules and break down the plant material.This process is already achieved with hydrolysis, using heat and chemicals. While more sustainable than using refined sugar from primary crops, it requires considerable energy and strong acids.We will modify our strain of yeast to work directly with plant material by producing the enzymes required to break down cellulose and lignin. Our end product is a versatile vegetable oil that requires minimal land or carbon impact to be grown.