Nitrogen Starvation Enhances the Production of Saturated and Unsaturated Fatty Acids in <i>Aurantiochytrium</i> sp. PKU#SW8 by Regulating Key Biosynthetic Genes
Nitrogen deprivation is known to improve lipid accumulation in microalgae and thraustochytrids. However, the patterns of fatty acid production and the molecular mechanisms underlying the accumulation of unsaturated and saturated fatty acids (SFAs) under nitrogen starvation remain largely unknown for...
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MDPI AG
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Marine Drugs |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/20/10/621 |
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| author | Xiaohong Chen Yaodong He Lu Liu Xingyu Zhu Biswarup Sen Guangyi Wang |
| author_facet | Xiaohong Chen Yaodong He Lu Liu Xingyu Zhu Biswarup Sen Guangyi Wang |
| author_sort | Xiaohong Chen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Nitrogen deprivation is known to improve lipid accumulation in microalgae and thraustochytrids. However, the patterns of fatty acid production and the molecular mechanisms underlying the accumulation of unsaturated and saturated fatty acids (SFAs) under nitrogen starvation remain largely unknown for thraustochytrids. In this study, batch culture experiments under nitrogen replete and nitrogen starvation conditions were performed, and the changes in the transcriptome of <i>Aurantiochytrium</i> sp. PKU#SW8 strain between these conditions were investigated. Our results showed improved yields of total fatty acids (TFAs), total unsaturated fatty acids, and total SFAs under nitrogen starvation, which suggested that nitrogen starvation favors the accumulation of both unsaturated and saturated fatty acids in PKU#SW8. However, nitrogen starvation resulted in a more than 2.36-fold increase of SFAs whereas a 1.7-fold increase of unsaturated fatty acids was observed, indicating a disproportionate increase in these groups of fatty acids. The fabD and enoyl-CoA hydratase genes were significantly upregulated under nitrogen starvation, supporting the observed increase in the yield of TFAs from 2.63 ± 0.22 g/L to 3.64 ± 0.16 g/L. Furthermore, the <i>pfa</i>B gene involved in the polyketide synthase (PKS) pathway was significantly upregulated under nitrogen starvation. This suggested that the increased expression of the <i>pfa</i>B gene under nitrogen starvation may be one of the explanations for the increased yield of docosahexaenoic acid by 1.58-fold. Overall, our study advances the current understanding of the molecular mechanisms that underlie the response of thraustochytrids to nitrogen deprivation and their fatty acid biosynthesis. |
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| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T03:33:22Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
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| series | Marine Drugs |
| spelling | doaj.art-4641ef533cad4ca5be910f0c1c15ad092023-12-03T14:51:14ZengMDPI AGMarine Drugs1660-33972022-09-01201062110.3390/md20100621Nitrogen Starvation Enhances the Production of Saturated and Unsaturated Fatty Acids in <i>Aurantiochytrium</i> sp. PKU#SW8 by Regulating Key Biosynthetic GenesXiaohong Chen0Yaodong He1Lu Liu2Xingyu Zhu3Biswarup Sen4Guangyi Wang5Center of Marine Environmental Ecology, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, ChinaCenter of Marine Environmental Ecology, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, ChinaCenter of Marine Environmental Ecology, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, ChinaCenter of Marine Environmental Ecology, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, ChinaCenter of Marine Environmental Ecology, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, ChinaCenter of Marine Environmental Ecology, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, ChinaNitrogen deprivation is known to improve lipid accumulation in microalgae and thraustochytrids. However, the patterns of fatty acid production and the molecular mechanisms underlying the accumulation of unsaturated and saturated fatty acids (SFAs) under nitrogen starvation remain largely unknown for thraustochytrids. In this study, batch culture experiments under nitrogen replete and nitrogen starvation conditions were performed, and the changes in the transcriptome of <i>Aurantiochytrium</i> sp. PKU#SW8 strain between these conditions were investigated. Our results showed improved yields of total fatty acids (TFAs), total unsaturated fatty acids, and total SFAs under nitrogen starvation, which suggested that nitrogen starvation favors the accumulation of both unsaturated and saturated fatty acids in PKU#SW8. However, nitrogen starvation resulted in a more than 2.36-fold increase of SFAs whereas a 1.7-fold increase of unsaturated fatty acids was observed, indicating a disproportionate increase in these groups of fatty acids. The fabD and enoyl-CoA hydratase genes were significantly upregulated under nitrogen starvation, supporting the observed increase in the yield of TFAs from 2.63 ± 0.22 g/L to 3.64 ± 0.16 g/L. Furthermore, the <i>pfa</i>B gene involved in the polyketide synthase (PKS) pathway was significantly upregulated under nitrogen starvation. This suggested that the increased expression of the <i>pfa</i>B gene under nitrogen starvation may be one of the explanations for the increased yield of docosahexaenoic acid by 1.58-fold. Overall, our study advances the current understanding of the molecular mechanisms that underlie the response of thraustochytrids to nitrogen deprivation and their fatty acid biosynthesis.https://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/20/10/621thraustochytridsdocosahexaenoic acidyieldnitrogen starvationtranscriptomemechanism |
| spellingShingle | Xiaohong Chen Yaodong He Lu Liu Xingyu Zhu Biswarup Sen Guangyi Wang Nitrogen Starvation Enhances the Production of Saturated and Unsaturated Fatty Acids in <i>Aurantiochytrium</i> sp. PKU#SW8 by Regulating Key Biosynthetic Genes Marine Drugs thraustochytrids docosahexaenoic acid yield nitrogen starvation transcriptome mechanism |
| title | Nitrogen Starvation Enhances the Production of Saturated and Unsaturated Fatty Acids in <i>Aurantiochytrium</i> sp. PKU#SW8 by Regulating Key Biosynthetic Genes |
| title_full | Nitrogen Starvation Enhances the Production of Saturated and Unsaturated Fatty Acids in <i>Aurantiochytrium</i> sp. PKU#SW8 by Regulating Key Biosynthetic Genes |
| title_fullStr | Nitrogen Starvation Enhances the Production of Saturated and Unsaturated Fatty Acids in <i>Aurantiochytrium</i> sp. PKU#SW8 by Regulating Key Biosynthetic Genes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Nitrogen Starvation Enhances the Production of Saturated and Unsaturated Fatty Acids in <i>Aurantiochytrium</i> sp. PKU#SW8 by Regulating Key Biosynthetic Genes |
| title_short | Nitrogen Starvation Enhances the Production of Saturated and Unsaturated Fatty Acids in <i>Aurantiochytrium</i> sp. PKU#SW8 by Regulating Key Biosynthetic Genes |
| title_sort | nitrogen starvation enhances the production of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids in i aurantiochytrium i sp pku sw8 by regulating key biosynthetic genes |
| topic | thraustochytrids docosahexaenoic acid yield nitrogen starvation transcriptome mechanism |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/20/10/621 |
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