Enhanced limonene production by metabolically engineered Yarrowia lipolytica from cheap carbon sources

Limonene is a valuable monoterpene widely used in the food and pharmaceutical industries. Previously, we successfully engineered Yarrowia lipolytica to produce limonenes. In this study, we focused on improving the titers of limonenes in Y. lipolytica by optimizing the metabolic flux of the limonene biosynthetic pathway and the medium composition. First, we adopted a combinatorial gene (over)expression strategy to improve the production of limonenes, obtaining the highest titer production strains. Subsequently, the medium composition and fed-batch fermentation were optimized to improve limonene biosynthesis, and it was confirmed that waste cooking oil (WCO) is the superior substrate to produce limonenes in Y. lipolytica. Under optimal fermentation conditions, the titers of D-limonene and L-limonene were improved to 91.24 mg/L and 83.06 mg/L from WCO. These findings provide valuable insights into the engineering of Y. lipolytica for a higher-level production of limonene and its utilization in converting WCO into other industrial products

Immersive Virtual Reality Training of Bioreactor Operations

This paper explores the application of immersive virtual reality (VR) as a training environment for biopharmaceutical engineering processes. An immersive simulation of a real-world industrial bioreactor setup was developed. This allows repeated practice in a safe and contextualized environment and mitigate limited access to equipment for hands-on training opportunities. It is hypothesized that using VR as an authentic context will assist in achieving the learning outcomes of performing operations in industry standard bioreactor setups, and understanding cellular processes. Two preliminary studies were conducted to evaluate the benefits of the VR application. Using pre- and post tests, there were comparable improvements using the VR application when compared to traditional lab lessons. Qualitatively, participants indicated benefits to learning through repeated practice and immersion in a realistic 3D lab environment. The introduction of gamification methods as motivators are areas to be further explored to better integrate students' theoretical and practical understanding compared to traditional approaches