Data from: A synthetic biology and green bioprocess approach to recreate agarwood sesquiterpenoid mixtures

Certain endangered Thymelaeaceous trees are major sources of the fragrant
and highly valued resinous agarwood, comprised of hundreds of oxygenated
sesquiterpenoids (STPs). Despite growing pressure on natural agarwood
sources, the chemical complexity of STPs severely limits synthetic
production. Here, we catalogued the chemical diversity in 58 agarwood
samples by two-dimensional gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and
partially recreated complex STP mixtures through synthetic biology. We
improved STP yields in the unicellular alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii by
combinatorial engineering to biosynthesise nine macrocyclic STP backbones
found in agarwood. A bioprocess following green-chemistry principles was
developed that exploits ‘milking’ of STPs without cell lysis,
solvent–solvent STP extraction, solvent–STP nanofiltration, and bulk STP
oxy-functionalisation to obtain terpene mixtures like those of agarwood.
This process occurs with total solvent recycling and enables continuous
production. Our synthetic-biology approach offers a sustainable
alternative to harvesting agarwood trees to obtain mixtures of complex,
fragrant, oxygenated STPs.