Activity of NAD-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase, isocitrate lyase, and malate dehydrogenase in Mucor circinelloides var. lusitanicus INMI under different modes of nitrogen supply

Abstract

The growth and morphology as well as lipogenesis and activity of the enzymes of the tricarboxylic acid cycle and the glyoxylate cycle were studied in the fungus Mucor circinelloides var. lusitanicus INMI grown at various concentrations of urea (nitrogen source) added to the medium in different modes. It was shown that the maximum lipid content in the biomass was observed at a low (0.5 g/l) concentration of the nitrogen source, whereas the highest content of gamma-linolenic acid in the lipids was detected at high (up to 4.0 g/l) concentrations of the nitrogen source. It was found that, when the feed-batch mode of nitrogen supply was used, the amount of gamma-linolenic acid in total fatty acids was higher (up to 35%) than in the case of a single administration of the same amount of nitrogen source to the medium. The differences in the fatty acid composition and the unsaturation degree of the lipids from different subcellular fractions were demonstrated. The mycelium from the culture grown after a single administration of the nitrogen source was deformed to a great extent. The activities of the TCA cycle enzymes, NAD-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH), and malate dehydrogenase (MDH) were lower than in the case of the feed-batch mode of urea addition, whereas the activity of isocitrate lyase (ICL), the key enzyme of the glyoxylate cycle, was higher. The coupling of the cell metabolism and the lipid composition of fungal cells and the process of cell differentiation in fungi depending on the conditions of nitrogen supply is discussed.