Production of fatty alcohols in Rhodosporidium

A genetically modified fungal cell useful for producing fatty alcohols that comprises:

• (a) a nucleic acid construct for overexpression of a heterologous fatty acyl-CoA reductase (FAR), wherein the nucleic acid construct for overexpressing the heterologous FAR comprises multiple copies of a nucleic acid encoding the heterologous FAR, wherein each copy of the nucleic acid encoding the heterologous FAR is operably linked to a different strong constitutive promoter, wherein the heterologous FAR has the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:
• 14, and wherein the overexpression of the heterologous FAR is in comparison to the corresponding non-genetically modified fungal cell;
• (b) a deletion in an endogenous gene encoding a type 1 acyl-CoA:diacylglycerol acyltransferase (Dga1);
• (c) a deletion in an endogenous gene encoding a type 2 phospholipid:diacylglycerol acyltransferase (Lro1);
• (d) a deletion in an endogenous gene encoding an acyl-CoA:sterol acyltransferase (steryl ester synthase, Are1);
• and
• (e) a deletion in an endogenous gene encoding a type 3 soluble acyltransferase (Dga3),
• wherein the fungal cell is from a Rhodosporidium species or a Rhodotorula species.