{"id":567445,"date":"2025-11-14T17:48:23","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T20:48:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/?p=567445"},"modified":"2025-11-14T17:48:23","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T20:48:23","slug":"microorganisms-provide-alternative-for-production-of-sustainable-oils","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/microorganisms-provide-alternative-for-production-of-sustainable-oils\/","title":{"rendered":"Microorganisms provide alternative for production of sustainable oils"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u00c4IO<\/span>RedOil, a microbial oil still under development, intended for the food sector\u00c4IO<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Three years after launching, Estonian biotech startup \u00c4IO has brought its first product to market: a nutrient-rich oil containing fats, fiber, and protein, made from food industry waste and oleaginous yeasts. Based in Tallinn, Estonia\u2019s capital on the Baltic Sea, \u00c4IO was cofounded by Brazilian biotechnologist Nemailla Bonturi and Estonian bioengineer Petri-Jaan Lahtvee, both researchers at Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech).<\/p>\n

Structurally similar to conventional vegetable oils, the new product is sold in powdered form\u2014an \u201cencapsulated oil\u201d in industry terms\u2014and has already secured European regulatory approval for use as a cosmetic ingredient. A second product, dubbed RedOil because of its color and developed for the food industry, is now in advanced development stages. \u00c4IO expects to submit its regulatory application in Europe by the end of the year.<\/p>\n

Microbial oils\u2014also called single-cell oils (SCOs)\u2014could offer a sustainable alternative to animal fats and plant oils such as palm oil, which is used in nearly half of all packaged foods and in up to 80% of cosmetic and personal care products. If production reaches industrial scale, these oils could serve as feedstock for biodiesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF)\u2014a technological route the aviation industry is turning to in its push to cut carbon emissions (see<\/em> Pesquisa FAPESP issues 317<\/a> and 337<\/a><\/em>).<\/p>\n

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\u00c4IO<\/span>Encapsulated oil produced by the Estonian startup\u00c4IO<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re among the first movers globally in this market,\u201d says Bonturi, who relocated to Estonia in 2016 after earning her PhD. Bonturi was part of the first class in the undergraduate biotechnology program at S\u00e3o Paulo State University (UNESP), Assis campus, and went on to complete her master\u2019s and PhD at the University of Campinas (UNICAMP), working under chemical engineering professor Everson Alves Miranda, a pioneer in microbial oil research in Brazil.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy doctoral work focused on using microbial oils as a biodiesel feedstock,\u201d she recalls. \u201cAfter defending my thesis, Brazil\u2019s political climate [in 2016] prompted me to look abroad for opportunities,\u201d she says. \u201cI landed a research position at the University of Tartu in Estonia, working with yeasts as microbial factories in a lab led by Petri [Lahtvee]. The job requirements matched my expertise: synthetic biology and bioprocessing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The collaboration with Miranda continued, and several PhD students from UNICAMP received grants to participate in her research projects in Estonia. \u201cPetri began focusing on oleaginous yeasts, which soon became the lab\u2019s central research theme,\u201d she says. \u201cAs our research progressed, it became clear that microbial oils had greater commercial potential in food and cosmetics.\u201d In 2022, by then already working at TalTech, we founded \u00c4IO,\u201d Bonturi recalls.<\/p>\n

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\u00c4IO<\/span>Fat produced by \u00c4IO\u00c4IO<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Advantages of microbial oils<\/strong>
\nMicrobial oils can be produced not only by yeasts\u2014\u00c4IO uses Rhodotorula toruloides<\/em> in its formulations\u2014but also by oil-producing bacteria, fungi, and algae. These microorganisms are classified as oleaginous if more than 20% of their dry mass consists of lipids. \u201cTheir main components are triacylglycerols\u2014molecules that can be esterified [a chemical reaction between a fatty acid and an alcohol] into biodiesel; and carotenoids, lipid-soluble pigments found in plants and animal-based foods,\u201d explains Miranda, who retired last year but continues to co-advise PhD students in this field.<\/p>\n

According to Miranda, microbial oils offer two big advantages over plant-based oils: they don\u2019t compete with food crops for farmland, and they help cut carbon emissions. Global production of vegetable oils and animal fats is estimated to emit over 1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2<\/sub>) annually. In 2023, total global greenhouse gas emissions reached roughly 53 gigatons of CO2<\/sub> equivalent\u2014a metric that standardizes the climate impact of various gases like methane and nitrous oxide in terms of CO2<\/sub>. \u201cOur oils and fats require 74% to 97% less land than conventional sources and are made using sustainable methods that considerably lower CO2<\/sub> emissions,\u201d Bonturi notes.<\/p>\n

One major benefit of microbial oils is how fast they can be produced. While making vegetable oils involves planting, growing, harvesting, and processing oilseed crops\u2014a time- and resource-intensive process that can take months or even years and consumes significant amounts of water and land\u2014microbial oils can be made in just a few hours in bioreactors, where microbes grow on a nutrient substrate.<\/p>\n

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Wesley Cardoso Generoso \/ Cristiele Saborito da Silva \/ Bruno Motta Nascimento \/ CNPEM<\/span>Lipid accumulation in oil-producing yeast visualized using Nile Red fluorescent stainingWesley Cardoso Generoso \/ Cristiele Saborito da Silva \/ Bruno Motta Nascimento \/ CNPEM<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cPut simply, instead of converting sugars into alcohol like in brewing or winemaking, the yeast eats the sugar and stores fat,\u201d says Bonturi. \u201cOf course, the underlying metabolic pathways are quite different. Once cultivation is complete, we separate and harvest the yeast. For our powdered oil product\u2014made from dried yeast biomass\u2014we use a drying step. To produce liquid oil, we add an extraction step after harvesting the yeast.\u201d<\/p>\n

Microbial cultivation can use a variety of feedstocks, including sugarcane, corn starch, or byproducts from the food, agricultural, and timber sectors. \u00c4IO uses sawdust\u2014Estonia\u2019s most abundant industrial byproduct\u2014which is rich in xylose, a type of sugar ideal for microbial growth. \u201cMicroorganisms don\u2019t need to grow on waste, but this boosts the environmental and economic sustainability of the process,\u201d explains Miranda, who has received FAPESP funding for his research.<\/p>\n

Miranda notes that the cultivation phase is key to both process efficiency and economic viability. \u201cThe challenge is designing low-cost culture media that provide carbon and energy\u2014usually from sugars\u2014while still ensuring the bioreactor delivers high yields,\u201d he says. In the recovery and purification stage, he adds, it\u2019s important to avoid using toxic solvents.<\/p>\n

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\u00c4IO <\/span>Bonturi in \u00c4IO\u2019s research lab in Tallinn, Estonia\u00c4IO <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cHarnessing microbes to convert cheap raw materials like food industry waste into high-value products\u2014proteins, oils, or specialty molecules\u2014is a promising strategy to cut dependence on conventional sources like crops or livestock,\u201d says Andreas Karoly Gombert, a chemical engineer and yeast specialist at UNICAMP\u2019s School of Food Engineering. \u201cAs long as the molecules are chemically similar, microbial oils could substitute for vegetable oils in cosmetics, processed foods, and personal care products,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

\u00c4IO currently runs a 300-liter pilot plant used for testing yeast strains and optimizing its production process. At the moment, commercial-scale production is handled by external manufacturing partners. The company plans to open its own industrial facility within the next two to three years to produce at scale. In parallel, it is also looking to license its proprietary technology to interested manufacturers. Scaling up remains one of the startup\u2019s toughest hurdles.<\/p>\n

So far, \u00c4IO\u2019s 20-person team has secured over \u20ac8 million in research grants and an additional \u20ac7 million in private capital. In late 2024, \u00c4IO took home top honors in the Food category at the Baltic Sustainability Awards, which featured over 70 innovative companies from across the Baltic region. Around the same time, Bonturi was honored with UNICAMP\u2019s Distinguished Alumni Award.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a tribute to her remarkable path as a researcher. Nemailla dreamed of being a scientist since she was a child,\u201d says Miranda. \u201cShe has a strong ability to learn, collaborate across disciplines, and embrace challenges. She took a leap moving to a new country, and not long after, went from postdoc to lab manager to cofounder of \u00c4IO alongside Petri,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

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\u00c4IO <\/span>Sawdust used as a substrate for growing oleaginous yeasts\u00c4IO <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

The research team led by Miranda and Bonturi has published roughly 20 papers on microbial oil production. A 2020 study in Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology<\/em> explored how R. toruloides<\/em> converts xylose into microbial oil under different growth conditions, including exposure to light and the addition of hydrogen peroxide. \u201cLight exposure increased carotenoid output by 70% and lipid production by 40% compared to what were then considered optimal conditions,\u201d says Miranda. \u201cHydrogen peroxide\u2014better known as common household peroxide\u2014didn\u2019t affect carotenoid levels, but it did result in a high lipid yield.\u201d<\/p>\n

A more recent study, published in the Journal of Cleaner Production<\/em> in 2022, assessed the technical, economic, and environmental feasibility of an integrated sugarcane biorefinery that produces first-generation bioethanol, bioelectricity, and biodiesel\u2014with microbial oil from R. toruloides<\/em> feeding the biodiesel production line. The authors concluded that the integrated process showed positive economic performance and is a viable model for industrial-scale production.<\/p>\n

\u201cProfessor Miranda\u2019s group has made a major contribution to microbial engineering, particularly in developing biorefinery technologies,\u201d says biologist Rafael Silva Rocha, founder of genomic big data company ByMyCell and a former professor at the University of S\u00e3o Paulo\u2019s Ribeir\u00e3o Preto Medical School (FMRP-USP) between 2015 and 2022. \u201cOur group focused on using synthetic biology to turn microbial oils into precursors for high-value compounds,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

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\u00c4IO <\/span>Cosmetics made with \u00c4IO\u2019s microbial oil\u00c4IO <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Aviation fuel<\/strong>
\nAt the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) in Campinas, scientists are exploring how microbial oils made from sugarcane juice could be used to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The process includes extracting and chemically processing the juice, followed by converting its sugars into lipids using oleaginous yeasts, according to a January study in Bioresource Technology<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids [HEFA] pathway is currently the primary method for making SAF,\u201d says chemical engineer Tassia Lopes Junqueira, who heads the project. \u201cBut limited access to traditional feedstocks and sustainability challenges limit how far it can scale.\u201d That\u2019s where microbial oils come in, Junqueira says\u2014they offer a promising alternative. \u201cA key barrier is the high cost of producing microbial oil, mainly due to the need for large-scale aerobic bioreactors\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n

According to the Bioresource Technology<\/em> study, the cost of producing SAF from microbial oils is estimated at $1.83 to $3 per liter\u2014up to four times more expensive than fossil-based jet fuel, but within range of other sustainable fuel production methods. \u201cMicrobial oils could deliver up to four times more SAF per hectare than soybean oil,\u201d Junqueira notes. Building on these results, the CNPEM team is now working on screening and genetically optimizing oil-producing yeasts found in Brazil\u2019s native biodiversity. \u201cThis is a critical step toward scaling microbial oil production and making it cost-competitive,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

The story above was published with the title “Sustainable oils from microbial biofactories<\/strong>” in issue 351 of May\/2025.<\/p>\n

Projects<\/strong>
\n1.<\/strong> From cell factory to integrated biodiesel-bioethanol biorefinery: A systemic approach applied to complex problems at micro and macro scales (n\u00b0 16\/10636-8<\/a>); Grant Mechanism<\/strong> Bioen Program; Principal Investigator<\/strong> Roberto de Campos Giordano (UFSCar); Investment<\/strong> R$11,449,535.74.
\n2.<\/strong> Integrated study of single cell oil production using unconventional yeasts from hemicellulosic hydrolysate and its cell recovery by flotation, in pursuit of applications for biorefineries (n\u00b0 13\/03103-5<\/a>); Grant Mechanism<\/strong> Regular Research Grant; Responsible researcher<\/strong> Everson Alves Miranda (UNICAMP); Investment<\/strong> R$224,737.72.
\n3.<\/strong> Development of a selective adsorbent for the plasmid DNA purification process for application in gene therapy and DNA vaccine studies (n\u00b0 07\/58430-0<\/a>); Grant Mechanism<\/strong> Regular Research Grant; Principal Investigator<\/strong> Everson Alves Miranda (UNICAMP); Investment<\/strong> R$121,990.62.<\/p>\n

Scientific articles<\/strong>
\nPINHEIRO, M. J. et al.<\/em> Xylose metabolismo and effect of oxidative stress on lipid and carotenoid production in Rhodotorula toruloides<\/em>: insights for future biorefinery<\/a>. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology<\/strong>. Vol. 8. Aug. 19, 2020.
\nLONGATI A. A. et al.<\/em> Microbial oil and biodiesel production in an integrated sugarcane biorefinery: Techno-economic and life cycle assessment<\/a>. Journal of Cleaner Production<\/strong>. Vol. 379. Dec. 15, 2022.
\nMARCHEZAN, A. N. et al<\/em>. Alternative feedstocks for sustainable aviation fuels: Assessment of sugarcane-derived microbial oil<\/a>. Bioresource Technology<\/strong>. Vol. 416. Jan. 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Inputs can be used for development of biofuels and as an ingredient in the food and cosmetics industries","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[169],"tags":[212],"coauthors":[116],"class_list":["post-567445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technology","tag-biotechnology"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/567445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=567445"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/567445\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":567479,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/567445\/revisions\/567479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=567445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=567445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=567445"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=567445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}