Browsing by Author "San, Ka-yiu"
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Item Alpha omega bifunctional fatty acids(2020-09-15) San, Ka-yiu; Wang, Dan; Rice University; United States Patent and Trademark OfficeThe present disclosure describes an engineered microorganism for producing alpha omega bifunctional C6-16 fatty acids from renewable carbon sources.Item Bacteria and method for synthesizing fatty acids(2019-11-05) San, Ka-yiu; Li, Mai; Zhang, Xiujun; Rice University; United States Patent and Trademark OfficeThere is provided a recombinant bacterium comprising at least one overexpressed acyl-ACP thioesterase gene, and wherein at least one gene from the tricarboxylic acid cycle or glycolysis or both is inactivated. There is also provided a method for producing fatty acids, said method comprising culturing bacteria comprising at least one overexpressed acyl-ACP thioesterase gene in a growth medium in a container having walls; allowing said bacteria to secrete fatty acids; and collecting said fatty acids. Acid supplementation is also shown to increase productivity.Item Bacteria and method for synthesizing fatty acids(2016-04-12) San, Ka-yiu; Li, Mai; Zhang, Xiujun; Rice University; United States Patent and Trademark OfficeThere is provided a recombinant bacterium comprising at least one overexpressed acyl-ACP thioesterase gene, and wherein at least one gene from the tricarboxylic acid cycle or glycolysis or both is inactivated. There is also provided a method for producing fatty acids, said method comprising culturing bacteria comprising at least one overexpressed acyl-ACP thioesterase gene in a growth medium in a container having walls; allowing said bacteria to secrete fatty acids; and collecting said fatty acids. Acid supplementation is also shown to increase productivity.Item Bacteria and method for synthesizing fatty acids(2017-03-21) San, Ka-yiu; Li, Mai; Rice University; United States Patent and Trademark OfficeThe present invention discloses a process for increasing the production of free fatty acids at high yield (close to maximum theoretical yield), with various fatty acid compositions and various percentage of fatty acids accumulated intracellularly. This invention will enable the efficient production of other products derived from free fatty acids and/or products that can be branched out from the fatty acid synthesis pathways.Item Fatty acid productivity(2018-07-03) San, Ka-yiu; Li, Wei; Rice University; United States Patent and Trademark OfficeThe present disclosure relates to an engineered microbe capable of improved productivity of fatty acid or fatty acid derivative. An NAD+-dependent 3-oxoacyl-ACP reductase or NAD+-dependent 3-oxoacyl-CoA reductase replaces or supplements the native NADP+-dependent 3-oxoacyl-ACP reductase so as to utilize the higher availability of NAD+ rather than NADP+ in the cell. Higher production, yield and titer of fatty acids are therefore obtained. Such microbes can be combined with other mutations to further improve yield of fatty acids or fatty acid derivatives.Item Galactose utilization(2021-11-16) San, Ka-yiu; Liu, Ping; Li, Sha; Rice University; United States Patent and Trademark OfficeThe present disclosure describes a genetically engineered bacteria that relieves the catabolite repression problem exerted by the Spot 42 small regulatory RNA by adding a galactokinase that does not contain the Spot 42 binding region. As such, galK (galactokinase) and galM (mutarotase) and the like can be expressed allow better galactose utilization.Item Hydroxy- and dicarboxylic-fat synthsis by microbes(2016-11-08) San, Ka-yiu; Xie, Xixian; Tuli, Leepika; Wu, Hui; Rice University; United States Patent and Trademark OfficeSystems, methods and microbes that allow the biological production of hydroxy fatty acids and dicarboxylic fatty acids are provided. Specifically, hydroxy fatty acids and dicarboxylic fatty acids are produced by microbes that have been engineered to overexpress acyl ACP thioesterase plus an alkane degration pathway, such as AlkBGT or AlkJH These can be in separate microbes or the same microbe, and separate microbes can be co-cultured or sequentially cultured. Continuously fed systems transferring secreted fats from one microbial culture to another can also be used.Item KAS-III free FA synthesis(2020-12-01) San, Ka-yiu; Zhang, Xian; Wu, Hui; Wang, Dan; Rice University; United States Patent and Trademark OfficeThe present disclosure describes a genetically engineered a KASIII-independent fatty acid biosynthetic pathway that makes use of the promiscuous nature of the rest of the FAS enzymes (3-ketoacyl-ACP synthetase, 3-ketoacyl-ACP reductase, 3-hydroxyacyl ACP dehydrase, enoyl-ACP reductase) to bypass the KASIII step by providing a Co-A precursor of two or higher than two carbons (such as the four carbon butyryl-CoA) as the starting molecule. Since many CoA-based starter molecules can be supplied for the fatty acid synthesis, much more diversified products can be obtained with various carbon-chain lengths. As such, this disclosure will serve as a powerful and efficient platform to produce low to medium chain length products carrying many different functional groups.Item Metabolic transistor in bacteria(2018-07-03) San, Ka-yiu; Bennett, George N.; Wu, Hui; Rice University; United States Patent and Trademark OfficeThe disclosure relates to a metabolic transistor in microbes such as bacteria and yeast where a competitive pathway is introduced to compete with a product pathway for available carbon so as to control the carbon flux in the microbe.Item Metabolic transistor in bacteria(2016-09-13) San, Ka-yiu; Bennett, George N.; Wu, Hui; Rice University; United States Patent and Trademark OfficeThe disclosure relates to a metabolic transistor in bacteria where a competitive pathway is introduced to compete with a product pathway for available carbon so as to control the carbon flux in the bacteria.Item Microbial production of fats(2021-02-16) San, Ka-yiu; Li, Zhilin; Zhang, Xian; Rice University; United States Patent and Trademark OfficeThis invention describes a method of using microbial to produce fats, such as fatty acids and their derivatives, or products derived from the fatty acid synthesis cycle, such as hydroxyfatty acids, methyl ketones, and the like.Item Microbial production of succinate derived products(2020-08-25) San, Ka-yiu; Bennett, George N.; Martinez, Irene; Rice University; United States Patent and Trademark OfficeMicrobes and methods used to convert renewable carbon sources such as glucose, sucrose, biomass hydrolysate, methanol or formate, to succinate-derived products, such as fumarate or malate, which are desirable products having many uses.Item Reduced activity of ubiCA in E. coli(2017-02-07) San, Ka-yiu; Bennett, George; Rice University; United States Patent and Trademark OfficeProduction of products by engineered bacteria is increased by regulating cellular respiration. Cellular respiration is controlled by reducing electron transfer enzyme activity. Some examples of electron transfer enzymes include NADH dehydrogenases, Succinate dehydrogenases, ubiquinone synthesis, cytochrome O, and cytochrome D. In one example, deletion of UbiCA prevents respiration. Respiration can the be controlled by addition of ubiquinone or expression of ubiCA.Item Synthesis of short chain fatty acids from bacteria(2016-07-12) San, Ka-yiu; Han, Songi; Rice University; United States Patent and Trademark OfficeThe present invention relates to an engineered bacteria for producing short chain fatty acid with the overexpression of a long chain (>C12) acyl-ACP thioesterases (long-TE) and a short chain (≦C12) acyl-ACP thioesterases (short-TE).