Microbial lipoxygenases for the production of added-value chemicals from commodity oils.

Fatty acids from plant-derived oils (for example soy or corn oil) form an important feedstock for the production of compounds with applications in food (flavourings, emulsifiers) and also non-food (detergents, polymer components) products. As such, it is of interest to develop methods for their conversion to added value products. Enzymatic conversion is an interesting approach for this, as it allows highly selective derivatization of fatty acids under mild reaction conditions. In this project, we will produce and characterize novel microbial lipoxygenase enzymes with the potential to be applied in fatty acid derivatisation processes. Lipoxygenases are non-heme iron dependent enzymes that catalyse the selective conversion of plant oil-derived unsaturated fatty acids to hydroperoxy fatty acids. These hydroperoxy fatty acids are precursors to a range of molecules of interest for application in the food, cosmetics and chemical industries. Novel microbial lipoxygenases will be identified using bioinformatics tools, produced in a heterologous host organism and characterised in terms of their biochemical properties. Subsequently, they will be applied in the conversion of fatty acids to hydroperoxy fatty acids and their derivatives of interest for industrial applications.