Investigation and engineering of respiratory energy coupling in yeasts

Microorganisms, enhanced by genetic engineering, are important cell factories for conversion of renewable feedstocks into fuels, chemicals, biomaterials, nutraceuticals and drugs. Microbial synthesis of these products from chemically simple carbon substrates often requires a net input of free energy in the form of ATP, which is typically provided by respiration in aerobic bioprocesses. In such processes, oxidation of a fraction of the substrate with oxygen releases carbon dioxide and water as final products and provides the ATP that is needed for product formation as well as for maintenance requirements and cellular growth...