Engineering of an oleaginous bacterium for the production of fatty acids and fuels

Production of free fatty acids (FFAs) and derivatives from renewable non-food biomass by microbial fermentation is of great interest. Here, we report the development of engineered Rhodococcus opacus strains producing FFAs, fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEEs) and long-chain hydrocarbons (LCHCs). Culture conditions were optimized to produce 82.9 g l−1 of triacylglycerols from glucose, and an engineered strain with acyl-coenzyme A (CoA) synthetases...