Phaeodactylum tricornutum is a diatom that is rich in lipids. Recently, it has received much attention as a feedstock for biodiesel production. Nitrogen deficiency is widely known to increase the content of neutral li...Phaeodactylum tricornutum is a diatom that is rich in lipids. Recently, it has received much attention as a feedstock for biodiesel production. Nitrogen deficiency is widely known to increase the content of neutral lipids （mainly triacylglycerides, or TAGs） of microalgae, including P. tricornutum, but the mechanism is unclear. In this study, we deciphered the correlations between TAG content and nine key enzymatic genes involved in lipid synthesis in P. tricornuturn. After being cultured under nitrogen-free conditions for 0, 4, 24, 48, 72, 120, and 168 h, the TAG contents ofP. tricornutum cells were assayed and the transcript abundances of the target genes were monitored by quantitative real-time PCR. The results show that the abundances of four target gene transcripts （LACS3, G3PDH2, G3PDH3, and G3PDH5） were positively correlated with TAG content, indicating that these genes may be involved in TAG synthesis in P. tricornutum. The findings improve our understanding of the metabolic network and regulation of lipid synthesis and will guide the future genetic improvement of the TAG content ofP. tricornutum.展开更多
基金Supported by the National Basic Research Program of China(973 Program)(No.2011CB200901)the National Key Technology Research and Development Program(No.2011BAD14B01)+1 种基金the Promotive Research Fund for Excellent Young and Middle-Aged Scientists of Shandong Province(No.BS2010SW037)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.31270408)
文摘Phaeodactylum tricornutum is a diatom that is rich in lipids. Recently, it has received much attention as a feedstock for biodiesel production. Nitrogen deficiency is widely known to increase the content of neutral lipids （mainly triacylglycerides, or TAGs） of microalgae, including P. tricornutum, but the mechanism is unclear. In this study, we deciphered the correlations between TAG content and nine key enzymatic genes involved in lipid synthesis in P. tricornuturn. After being cultured under nitrogen-free conditions for 0, 4, 24, 48, 72, 120, and 168 h, the TAG contents ofP. tricornutum cells were assayed and the transcript abundances of the target genes were monitored by quantitative real-time PCR. The results show that the abundances of four target gene transcripts （LACS3, G3PDH2, G3PDH3, and G3PDH5） were positively correlated with TAG content, indicating that these genes may be involved in TAG synthesis in P. tricornutum. The findings improve our understanding of the metabolic network and regulation of lipid synthesis and will guide the future genetic improvement of the TAG content ofP. tricornutum.
