Abstract
Lipid accumulation in various microalgae has been found induced by nitrogen deprivation, and it controls many different genes expression. Yet, the underlying molecular mechanisms still remain largely unknown. MicroRNA (miRNAs) play a critical role in post-transcriptional gene regulation. In this study, miRNAs were hypothesized involved in lipid accumulation by nitrogen deprivation. A deep-sequencing platform was used to explore miRNAs-mediated responses induced by nitrogen deprivation in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. The eukaryotic orthologous groups of proteins (KOG) function in the predicted target genes of miRNA with response to nitrogen deprivation were mainly involved in signal transduction mechanisms, including transcription, lipid transport, and metabolism. A total of 109 miRNA were predicted, including 79 known miRNA and 30 novel miRNA. A total of 29 miRNAs showed significantly differential expressions after nitrogen deprivation, and most of them were upregulated. A total of 10 miRNAs and their targeting genes might involve in lipid transport and metabolism biological process. This study first investigates nitrogen deprivation-regulated miRNAs in microalgae and broadens perspectives on miRNAs importance in microalgae lipid accumulation via nitrogen deprivation. This study provides theoretical guidance for the application of microalgae in bio-oil engineering production.
Highlights
The development toward clean and sustainable biofuels has gained significant support due to petroleum supply, global climate change, and energy shortage [1,2]
Cells in a nitrogen-replete medium accumulated relatively little lipid until day 3. This result showed that the lipid content of C. reinhardtii could be increased under nitrogen deprivation stress
The putative miRNA target gene is predicted by KOG
Summary
The development toward clean and sustainable biofuels has gained significant support due to petroleum supply, global climate change, and energy shortage [1,2]. Microalgae have excellent photosynthetic efficiency, lipid content, and shorter cultivation time. The search for a sustainable source of biofuel has renewed interest in microalgae as a potential feedstock [3]. Production of lipids by microalgae is usually because of environmental stresses, and many microalgae have the ability to accumulate large quantities of lipids when nutrient-deprived [4], nitrogen deprived. Cyanobacteria showed an average increase of 9.8% in lipid content under nitrogen-depletion conditions [4].
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