Due to their high energy density and compatible physical properties， several monoterpenes have been investigated as potential renewable transportation fuels， either as blendstocks with petroleum or as drop-in replacements for use in vehicles (both heavy and light-weight) or in aviation. Sustainable microbial production of these biofuels requires the ability to utilize cheap and readily available feedstocks such as lignocellulosic biomass， which can be depolymerized into fermentable carbon sources such as glucose and xylose. However， common microbial production platforms such as the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae are not naturally capable of utilizing xylose， hence requiring extensive strain engineerin... More
Due to their high energy density and compatible physical properties， several monoterpenes have been investigated as potential renewable transportation fuels， either as blendstocks with petroleum or as drop-in replacements for use in vehicles (both heavy and light-weight) or in aviation. Sustainable microbial production of these biofuels requires the ability to utilize cheap and readily available feedstocks such as lignocellulosic biomass， which can be depolymerized into fermentable carbon sources such as glucose and xylose. However， common microbial production platforms such as the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae are not naturally capable of utilizing xylose， hence requiring extensive strain engineering and optimization to efficiently utilize lignocellulosic feedstocks. In contrast， the oleaginous red yeast Rhodosporidium toruloides is capable of efficiently metabolizing both xylose and glucose， suggesting that it may be a suitable host for the production of lignocellulosic bioproducts. In addition， R. toruloides naturally produces several carotenoids (C40 terpenoids)， indicating that it may have a naturally high carbon flux through its mevalonate (MVA) pathway， providing pools of intermediates for the production of a wide range of heterologous terpene-based biofuels and bioproducts from lignocellulose.
