Tools for synthetic pathway expression and engineering in Pichia pastoris - Professor Toni Glieder (Graz University of Technology)

QUT Institute for Future Environments

IFE Distinguished Visitor Lecture recorded on 28 June 2019.

Pichia pastoris, one of the most commonly used eukaryotic expression hosts, was reassigned to the genus Komagataella in 1995 and divided into the three species: Komagataella phaffii, K. pastoris and K. pseudopastoris. Most biotechnological applications for protein expression employ the species K. phaffii. Innovative concepts for the K. phaffii genome and expression cassette engineering enable improved protein expression and extend the fields of application for this non-conventional yeast. In particular, great potential can be seen in synthetic pathway expression and biological manufacturing of chemicals, where the lack of tools for engineering have so far limited the range of possible applications. Recent advances in this field now offer new opportunities for efficient expression of multiple genes by simple molecular engineering and balanced co-expression to optimise product yields and compositions.