Peroxisomal beta-oxidation activities and gamma-decalactone production by the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica.

gamma-Decalactone is a peachy aroma compound resulting from the peroxisomal beta-oxidation of ricinoleic acid by yeasts. The expression levels of acyl-CoA oxidase (gene deletion) and 3-ketoacyl-CoA thiolase activities (gene amplification on replicative plasmids) were modified in the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica. The effects of these modifications on beta-oxidation were measured. Overexpression of thiolase activity did not have any effect on the overall beta-oxidation activity. The disruption of one of the acyl-CoA oxidase genes resulted in an enhanced activity. The enhancement led to an increase of overall beta-oxidation activity but reduced the gamma-decalactone production rates. This seemed to indicate a non-rate-limiting role for beta-oxidation in the biotransformation of ricinoleic acid to gamma-decalactone by the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica. All strains produced and then consumed gamma-decalactone. We checked the ability of the different strains to consume gamma-decalactone in a medium containing the lactone as sole carbon source. The consumption of the strain overexpressing acyl-CoA oxidase activity was higher than that of the wild-type strain. We concluded that peroxisomal beta-oxidation is certainly involved in gamma-decalactone catabolism by the yeast Y. lipolytica. The observed production rates probably depend on an equilibrium between production and consumption of the lactone.