Alternative feedstock for precision fermentation of oil

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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.