Researchers at the Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology of Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech) in Estonia used artificial intelligence to identify genes that could help the oleaginous yeast Yarrowia lipolytica produce more lipids and pigments.
The team built a new metabolic model, eciYali5-GEM, incorporating laboratory proteomics data, and used the AI tool DLKcat to predict enzyme properties, which lead author Juliano Sabedotti de Biaggi said sped up the analysis several hundredfold.
Naturally, lipids make up between one-fifth and one-half of the yeast’s dry mass, and genetic changes could raise that to nearly 80%. The approach could help supply raw materials for food, cosmetics and biofuels. The study was published in Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology.
