Development of cellobiose-degrading ability in Yarrowia lipolytica strain by overexpression of endogenous genes

Background Yarrowia lipolytica, one of the most widely studied “nonconventional” oleaginous yeast species, is unable to grow on cellobiose. Engineering cellobiose-degrading ability into this yeast is a vital step towards the development of cellulolytic biocatalysts suitable for consolidated bioprocessing.