Construction of Yarrowia lipolytica Capable of Degrading Alkanes and Tolerating High-Salt Stress

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Microbial degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons plays an essential role in mitigating petroleum contamination. However, high-salt stress in petroleum-contaminated environments can significantly reduce the efficiency of microbial degradation. In this study, transcriptome analysis was carried out on Yarrowia lipolytica (YAH13) to elucidate the osmoprotective mechanism of erythritol under high-salt stress (1.5 M NaCl), revealing its multifaceted role in maintaining intracellular energy homeostasis and lipid metabolism during high-salinity stress. Thus, YAH13 was engineered to enhance the alkane degradation rate under high-salt stress. Among the obtained strains, YAO09, which enhanced the lipid droplet synthesis and fatty acid metabolism pathways, exhibited a significantly enhanced alkane degradation rate of 83.2% under nonstress and 77.2% under high-salt stress conditions over YAH13 (72.1% under nonstress and 65.2% under high-salt stress). YAO10, which enhanced the erythritol synthesis pathway, was virtually unaffected by high-salt stress. It showed a degradation rate of 76.7% under high-salt stress, which was similar to that under nonstress conditions (77.7%). This study offers new possibilities for the effective degradation of petroleum pollutants and the enhancement of tolerance to high-salt stress in the bioremediation process.