Abstract
BackgroundThe development of microalgal strains for enhanced biomass and biofuel production has received increased attention. Moreover, strain development via metabolic engineering for commercial production is being considered as the most efficient strategy. Pyruvate is an essential metabolite in the cells and plays an essential role in amino acid biosynthesis and de novo fatty acid biosynthesis in plastids. Although pyruvate can be a valuable target for metabolic engineering, its transporters have rarely been studied in microalgae. In this study, we aimed to identify the plastidial pyruvate transporter of Phaeodactylum tricornutum and utilize it for strain development.ResultsWe identified putative pyruvate transporter localized in the plastid membrane of Phaeodactylum tricornutum. Transformants overexpressing the pyruvate transporter were generated to increase the influx of pyruvate into plastids. Overexpression of a plastidial pyruvate transporter in P. tricornutum resulted in enhanced biomass (13.6% to 21.9%), lipid contents (11% to 30%), and growth (3.3% to 8.0%) compared to those of wild type during one-stage cultivation.ConclusionTo regulate the pyruvate influx and its metabolism in plastids, we generated transformants overexpressing the putative plastidial pyruvate transporter in P. tricornutum. They showed that its overexpression for compartmentalizing pyruvate in plastids could be an attractive strategy for the effective production of biomass and lipids with better growth, via enhanced pyruvate metabolism in plastids.
Highlights
The development of microalgal strains for enhanced biomass and biofuel production has received increased attention
Identification of the pyruvate transporter‐plastid type (PtPTP) gene in P. tricornutum Based on previous studies on the plastidial pyruvate transporter in plants, we assessed the pyruvate transporter-plastid type gene in P. tricornutum
The protein similarity test to the Arabidopsis thaliana plastidial pyruvate transporter revealed that AtBASS2 (At2g26900), the candidate gene of PHATRDRAFT_3046 (GenBank XP_002179421), showed the highest similarity (49% protein identity and 65% protein similarity)
Summary
The development of microalgal strains for enhanced biomass and biofuel production has received increased attention. Strain development via metabolic engineering for commercial production is being considered as the most efficient strategy. Pyruvate can be a valuable target for metabolic engineering, its transporters have rarely been studied in microalgae. We aimed to identify the plastidial pyruvate transporter of Phaeodactylum tricornutum and utilize it for strain development. Biofuels are derived from biomass and are classified into three generations. Increasing biomass production and lipid accumulation of microalgae could effectively reduce the costs. Efficient biomass production needs optimal culture conditions, and lipid induction to enhance lipid contents in microalgae requires adverse culture conditions, which reduces growth and biomass production and takes lots of time [12, 13]. To overcome the limitation of microalgae in industrial applications, genetic modification and metabolic engineering of microalgae are necessary [14]
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