Choreography of Transcriptomes and Lipidomes of Nannochloropsis Reveals the Mechanisms of Oil Synthesis in Microalgae

The dilemma for lipid productivity in green microalgae: importance of substrate provision in improving oil yield without sacrificing growth

Rising oil prices and concerns over climate change have resulted in more emphasis on research into renewable biofuels from microalgae. Unlike plants, green microalgae have higher biomass productivity, will not compete with food and agriculture, and do not require fertile land for cultivation. However, microalgae biofuels currently suffer from high capital and operating costs due to low yields and costly extraction methods. Microalgae grown under optimal conditions produce large amounts of biomass but with low neutral lipid content, while microalgae grown in nutrient starvation accumulate high levels of neutral lipids but are slow growing. Producing lipids while maintaining high growth rates is vital for biofuel production because high biomass productivity increases yield per harvest volume while high lipid content decreases the cost of extraction per unit product. Therefore, there is a need for metabolic engineering of microalgae to constitutively produce high amounts of lipids without sacrificing growth. Substrate availability is a rate-limiting step in balancing growth and fatty acid (FA) production because both biomass and FA synthesis pathways compete for the same substrates, namely acetyl-CoA and NADPH. In this review, we discuss the efforts made for improving biofuel production in plants and microorganisms, the challenges faced in achieving lipid productivity, and the important role of precursor supply for FA synthesis. The main focus is placed on the enzymes which catalyzed the reactions supplying acetyl-CoA and NADPH.

Nitrogen-induced metabolic changes and molecular determinants of carbon allocation in Dunaliella tertiolecta

Certain species of microalgae are natural accumulators of lipids, while others are more inclined to store starch. However, what governs the preference to store lipids or starch is not well understood. In this study, the microalga Dunaliella tertiolecta was used as a model to study the global gene expression profile regulating starch accumulation in microalgae. D. tertiolecta, when depleted of nitrogen, produced only 1% of dry cell weight (DCW) in neutral lipids, while starch was rapidly accumulated up to 46% DCW. The increased in starch content was accompanied by a coordinated overexpression of genes shunting carbon towards starch synthesis, a response not seen in the oleaginous microalgae Nannochloropsis oceanica, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii or Chlorella vulgaris. Genes in the central carbon metabolism pathways, particularly those of the tricarboxylic acid cycle, were also simultaneously upregulated, indicating a robust interchange of carbon skeletons for anabolic and catabolic processes. In contrast, fatty acid and triacylglycerol synthesis genes were downregulated or unchanged, suggesting that lipids are not a preferred form of storage in these cells. This study reveals the transcriptomic influence behind storage reserve allocation in D. tertiolecta and provides valuable insights into the possible manipulation of genes for engineering microorganisms to synthesize products of interest.

Combined nitrogen limitation and hydrogen peroxide treatment enhances neutral lipid accumulation in the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum

Exogenous application of dilute hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) increases neutral lipid production in Phaeodactylum tricornutum. Exposing early stationary phase cultures of P. tricornutum to 0.25-2mM H2O2 increases the amount of neutral lipids per biomass (mg/mg) by >100% at 24h post H2O2 treatment as determined upon lipid extraction and analysis using a neutral lipid assay. H2O2 treatment increased the total levels of neutral lipids harvested up to 50%, from 64mg/L to 96mg/L, demonstrating its possible effectiveness as a pre-harvest strategy to enhance the biofuel feedstock potential of P. tricornutum. The effects of H2O2 on biomass are concentration dependent; increasing concentrations of H2O2 reduce the levels of isolated biomass. Analysis of combined stressors demonstrates that H2O2 treatment exhibits synergistic effects to enhance neutral lipid production under nitrogen-depleted, but not phosphorus-depleted conditions, suggesting that the effects of hydrogen peroxide on lipid production are influenced by environmental nitrogen levels.

A pivotal role of vacuolar H(+)-ATPase in regulation of lipid production in Phaeodactylum tricornutum

Microalgal lipids have been considered as a promising source for biodiesel production. Alkaline pH can induce neutral lipid accumulation in microalgae cells. However, whether and how proton pumps, especially vacuolar H(+)-ATPase (V-ATPase), function in these processes is not well known. In this study, we treated Phaeodactylum tricornutum with V-ATPase specific inhibitor bafilomycin A1 (BFA1) to determine its role in lipid production. Firstly, V-ATPase activity was increased in the latter phase of microalgae growth. BFA1 treatment decreased the cell density and lipid contents. Further analysis showed that BFA1 treatment reduced the number and size of oil bodies. GC-MS analysis showed that lipid components were not affected by BFA1 treatment. Intracellular pH was decreased and nitrogen depletion was delayed after BFA1 treatment. RNA-Seq analysis showed that expression of genes involved in calcium signaling, sulfur metabolism, cell cycle, glycolysis, pentose phosphate pathway, porphyrin, chlorophyll metabolism and lipid catabolic metabolism were upregulated, while expression of genes involved in ion transmembrane transport, ubiquitin mediated proteolysis, SNARE interactions in vesicular transport, fatty acid biosynthesis were downregulated under BFA1 treatment. Our findings provided insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying lipid accumulation and the key genes involved in lipid metabolism in Phaeodactylum tricornutum in response to BFA1.

Light Remodels Lipid Biosynthesis in Nannochloropsis gaditana by Modulating Carbon Partitioning between Organelles

The seawater microalga Nannochloropsis gaditana is capable of accumulating a large fraction of reduced carbon as lipids. To clarify the molecular bases of this metabolic feature, we investigated light-driven lipid biosynthesis in Nannochloropsis gaditana cultures combining the analysis of photosynthetic functionality with transcriptomic, lipidomic and metabolomic approaches. Light-dependent alterations are observed in amino acid, isoprenoid, nucleic acid, and vitamin biosynthesis, suggesting a deep remodeling in the microalgal metabolism triggered by photoadaptation. In particular, high light intensity is shown to affect lipid biosynthesis, inducing the accumulation of diacylglyceryl-N,N,N-trimethylhomo-Ser and triacylglycerols, together with the up-regulation of genes involved in their biosynthesis. Chloroplast polar lipids are instead decreased. This situation correlates with the induction of genes coding for a putative cytosolic fatty acid synthase of type 1 (FAS1) and polyketide synthase (PKS) and the down-regulation of the chloroplast fatty acid synthase of type 2 (FAS2). Lipid accumulation is accompanied by the regulation of triose phosphate/inorganic phosphate transport across the chloroplast membranes, tuning the carbon metabolic allocation between cell compartments, favoring the cytoplasm, mitochondrion, and endoplasmic reticulum at the expense of the chloroplast. These results highlight the high flexibility of lipid biosynthesis in N. gaditana and lay the foundations for a hypothetical mechanism of regulation of primary carbon partitioning by controlling metabolite allocation at the subcellular level.

Metabolic regulation of triacylglycerol accumulation in the green algae: identification of potential targets for engineering to improve oil yield

The great need for more sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels has increased our research interests in algal biofuels. Microalgal cells, characterized by high photosynthetic efficiency and rapid cell division, are an excellent source of neutral lipids as potential fuel stocks. Various stress factors, especially nutrient-starvation conditions, induce an increased formation of lipid bodies filled with triacylglycerol in these cells. Here we review our knowledge base on glycerolipid synthesis in the green algae with an emphasis on recent studies on carbon flux, redistribution of lipids under nutrient-limiting conditions and its regulation. We discuss the contributions and limitations of classical and novel approaches used to elucidate the algal triacylglycerol biosynthetic pathway and its regulatory network in green algae. Also discussed are gaps in knowledge and suggestions for much needed research both on the biology of triacylglycerol accumulation and possible avenues to engineer improved algal strains.

Modulation of photosynthetic activity and photoprotection in Haematococcus pluvialis cells during their conversion into haematocysts and back

The engagement of different photoprotective mechanisms in the cells of the carotenogenic astaxanthin-accumulating chlorophyte Haematococcus pluvialis (i) under favorable conditions, (ii) in the course of stress-induced haematocyst formation and (iii) during recovery from the stress was studied. To this end, we followed the changes in primary photochemistry, electron flow at the acceptor side of photosystem II, and non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) using PAM chlorophyll fluorimetry. A general trend recorded in the stressed cells undergoing transition to haematocysts (and reversed during recovery from the stress) was a gradual reduction of the photosynthetic apparatus accompanied by down-regulation of energy-dependent photoprotective mechanisms such as NPQ, along with the accumulation of astaxanthin. On this background, a transient up-regulation of the photosynthetic activity was detected at the intermediated stages (20-50 h of the stress exposure) of haematocyst formation. This phenomenon was tentatively related with the peak of metabolic activity found earlier in the forming haematocysts. The role of secondary carotenogenesis coupled with a reversible transition from 'active' (energy-dependent) to 'passive' photoprotective mechanisms in the extremely high stress tolerance of carotenogenic phototrophs is discussed.

Transcript level coordination of carbon pathways during silicon starvation-induced lipid accumulation in the diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana

Diatoms are one of the most productive and successful photosynthetic taxa on Earth and possess attributes such as rapid growth rates and production of lipids, making them candidate sources of renewable fuels. Despite their significance, few details of the mechanisms used to regulate growth and carbon metabolism are currently known, hindering metabolic engineering approaches to enhance productivity. To characterize the transcript level component of metabolic regulation, genome-wide changes in transcript abundance were documented in the model diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana on a time-course of silicon starvation. Growth, cell cycle progression, chloroplast replication, fatty acid composition, pigmentation, and photosynthetic parameters were characterized alongside lipid accumulation. Extensive coordination of large suites of genes was observed, highlighting the existence of clusters of coregulated genes as a key feature of global gene regulation in T. pseudonana. The identity of key enzymes for carbon metabolic pathway inputs (photosynthesis) and outputs (growth and storage) reveals these clusters are organized to synchronize these processes. Coordinated transcript level responses to silicon starvation are probably driven by signals linked to cell cycle progression and shifts in photophysiology. A mechanistic understanding of how this is accomplished will aid efforts to engineer metabolism for development of algal-derived biofuels.

Lipid Production from Nannochloropsis

Microalgae are sunlight-driven green cell factories for the production of potential bioactive products and biofuels. Nannochloropsis represents a genus of marine microalgae with high photosynthetic efficiency and can convert carbon dioxide to storage lipids mainly in the form of triacylglycerols and to the ω-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). Recently, Nannochloropsis has received ever-increasing interests of both research and public communities. This review aims to provide an overview of biology and biotechnological potential of Nannochloropsis, with the emphasis on lipid production. The path forward for the further exploration of Nannochloropsis for lipid production with respect to both challenges and opportunities is also discussed.

Stress-induced neutral lipid biosynthesis in microalgae - Molecular, cellular and physiological insights

Photosynthetic microalgae have promise as biofuel feedstock. Under certain conditions, they produce substantial amounts of neutral lipids, mainly in the form of triacylglycerols (TAGs), which can be converted to fuels. Much of our current knowledge on the genetic and molecular basis of algal neutral lipid metabolism derives mainly from studies of plants, i.e. seed tissues, and to a lesser extent from direct studies of algal lipid metabolism. Thus, the knowledge of TAG synthesis and the cellular trafficking of TAG precursors in algal cells is to a large extent based on genome predictions, and most aspects of TAG metabolism have yet to be experimentally verified. The biofuel prospects of microalgae have raised the interest in mechanistic studies of algal TAG biosynthesis in recent years and resulted in an increasing number of publications on lipid metabolism in microalgae. In this review we summarize the current findings on genetic, molecular and physiological studies of TAG accumulation in microalgae. Special emphasis is on the functional analysis of key genes involved in TAG synthesis, molecular mechanisms of regulation of TAG biosynthesis, as well as on possible mechanisms of lipid droplet formation in microalgal cells. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Plant Lipid Biology edited by Kent D. Chapman and Ivo Feussner.

Elevated CO2 improves lipid accumulation by increasing carbon metabolism in Chlorella sorokiniana

Supplying microalgae with extra CO2 is a promising means for improving lipid production. The molecular mechanisms involved in lipid accumulation under conditions of elevated CO2, however, remain to be fully elucidated. To understand how elevated CO2 improves lipid production, we performed sequencing of Chlorella sorokiniana LS-2 cellular transcripts during growth and compared transcriptional dynamics of genes involved in carbon flow from CO2 to triacylglycerol. These analyses identified the majority genes of carbohydrate metabolism and lipid biosynthesis pathways in C. sorokiniana LS-2. Under high doses of CO2 , despite down-regulation of most de novo fatty acid biosynthesis genes, genes involved in carbohydrate metabolic pathways including carbon fixation, chloroplastic glycolysis, components of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDHC) and chloroplastic membrane transporters were upexpressed at the prolonged lipid accumulation phase. The data indicate that lipid production is largely independent of de novo fatty acid synthesis. Elevated CO2 might push cells to channel photosynthetic carbon precursors into fatty acid synthesis pathways, resulting in an increase of overall triacylglycerol generation. In support of this notion, genes involved in triacylglycerol biosynthesis were substantially up-regulated. Thus, elevated CO2 may influence regulatory dynamics and result in increased carbon flow to triacylglycerol, thereby providing a feasible approach to increase lipid production in microalgae.

Microalgal TAG production strategies: why batch beats repeated-batch

BACKGROUND

For a commercially feasible microalgal triglyceride (TAG) production, high TAG productivities are required. The operational strategy affects TAG productivity but a systematic comparison between different strategies is lacking. For this, physiological responses of Nannochloropsis sp. to nitrogen (N) starvation and N-rich medium replenishment were studied in lab-scale batch and repeated-batch (part of the culture is periodically harvested and N-rich medium is re-supplied) cultivations under continuous light, and condensed into a mechanistic model.

RESULTS

The model, which successfully described both strategies, was used to identify potential improvements for both batch and repeated-batch and compare the two strategies on optimized TAG yields on light (amount of TAGs produced per mol of supplied PAR photons). TAG yields on light, for batch, from 0.12 (base case at high light) to 0.49 g molph (-1) (at low light and with improved strain) and, for repeated-batch, from 0.07 (base case at high light) to 0.39 g molph (-1) (at low light with improved strain and optimized repeated-batch settings). The base case yields are in line with the yields observed in current state-of-the-art outdoor TAG production.

CONCLUSIONS

For continuous light, an optimized batch process will always result in higher TAG yield on light compared to an optimized repeated-batch process. This is mainly because repeated-batch cycles start with N-starved cells. Their reduced photosynthetic capacity leads to inefficient light use during the regrowth phase which results in lower overall TAG yields compared to a batch process.

Microalgae as a Source for VLC-PUFA Production

Microalgae present a huge and still insufficiently tapped resource of very long-chain omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (VLC-PUFA) for human nutrition and medicinal applications. This chapter describes the diversity of unicellular eukaryotic microalgae in respect to VLC-PUFA biosynthesis. Then, we outline the major biosynthetic pathways mediating the formation of VLC-PUFA by sequential desaturation and elongation of C18-PUFA acyl groups. We address the aspects of spatial localization of those pathways and elaborate on the role for VLC-PUFA in microalgal cells. Recent progress in microalgal genetic transformation and molecular engineering has opened the way to increased production efficiencies for VLC-PUFA. The perspectives of photobiotechnology and metabolic engineering of microalgae for altered or enhanced VLC-PUFA production are also discussed.

Triacylglycerol Accumulation in Photosynthetic Cells in Plants and Algae

Plant and algal oils are some of the most energy-dense renewable compounds provided by nature. Triacylglycerols (TAGs) are the major constituent of plant oils, which can be converted into fatty acid methyl esters commonly known as biodiesel. As one of the most efficient producers of TAGs, photosynthetic microalgae have attracted substantial interest for renewable fuel production. Currently, the big challenge of microalgae based TAGs for biofuels is their high cost compared to fossil fuels. A conundrum is that microalgae accumulate large amounts of TAGs only during stress conditions such as nutrient deprivation and temperature stress, which inevitably will inhibit growth. Thus, a better understanding of why and how microalgae induce TAG biosynthesis under stress conditions would allow the development of engineered microalgae with increased TAG production during conditions optimal for growth. Land plants also synthesize TAGs during stresses and we will compare new findings on environmental stress-induced TAG accumulation in plants and microalgae especially in the well-characterized model alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and a biotechnologically relevant genus Nannochloropsis.

Acetyl-CoA synthetase is activated as part of the PDH-bypass in the oleaginous green alga Chlorella desiccata

In a recent study, it has been shown that biosynthesis of triacylglycerol (TAG) in the oleaginous green alga Chlorella desiccata is preceded by a large increase in acetyl-coenzyme A (Ac-CoA) levels and by upregulation of plastidic pyruvate dehydrogenase (ptPDH). It was proposed that the capacity to accumulate high TAG critically depends on enhanced production of Ac-CoA. In this study, two alternative Ac-CoA producers-plastidic Ac-CoA synthase (ptACS) and ATP citrate lyase (ACL)-are shown to be upregulated prior to TAG accumulation under nitrogen deprivation in the oleaginous species C. desiccata, but not in the moderate TAG accumulators Dunaliella tertiolecta and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Measurements of endogenous acetate production and of radiolabelled acetate incorporation into lipids are consistent with the upregulation of ptACS, but suggest that its contribution to the overall TAG biosynthesis is negligible. Induction of ACS and production of endogenous acetate are correlated with activation of alcohol dehydrogenase, suggesting that the upregulation of ptACS is associated with activation of PDH-bypass in C. desiccata. It is proposed that activation of the PDH-bypass in C. desiccata is needed to enable a high rate of lipid biosynthesis under nitrogen deprivation by controlling the level of pyruvate reaching ptPHD and/or mtPDH. This may be an important parameter for massive TAG accumulation in microalgae.

Genomic Foundation of Starch-to-Lipid Switch in Oleaginous Chlorella spp

The ability to rapidly switch the intracellular energy storage form from starch to lipids is an advantageous trait for microalgae feedstock. To probe this mechanism, we sequenced the 56.8-Mbp genome of Chlorella pyrenoidosa FACHB-9, an industrial production strain for protein, starch, and lipids. The genome exhibits positive selection and gene family expansion in lipid and carbohydrate metabolism and genes related to cell cycle and stress response. Moreover, 10 lipid metabolism genes might be originated from bacteria via horizontal gene transfer. Transcriptomic dynamics tracked via messenger RNA sequencing over six time points during metabolic switch from starch-rich heterotrophy to lipid-rich photoautotrophy revealed that under heterotrophy, genes most strongly expressed were from the tricarboxylic acid cycle, respiratory chain, oxidative phosphorylation, gluconeogenesis, glyoxylate cycle, and amino acid metabolisms, whereas those most down-regulated were from fatty acid and oxidative pentose phosphate metabolism. The shift from heterotrophy into photoautotrophy highlights up-regulation of genes from carbon fixation, photosynthesis, fatty acid biosynthesis, the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway, and starch catabolism, which resulted in a marked redirection of metabolism, where the primary carbon source of glycine is no longer supplied to cell building blocks by the tricarboxylic acid cycle and gluconeogenesis, whereas carbon skeletons from photosynthesis and starch degradation may be directly channeled into fatty acid and protein biosynthesis. By establishing the first genetic transformation in industrial oleaginous C. pyrenoidosa, we further showed that overexpression of an NAD(H) kinase from Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) increased cellular lipid content by 110.4%, yet without reducing growth rate. These findings provide a foundation for exploiting the metabolic switch in microalgae for improved photosynthetic production of food and fuels.

Manipulation of oil synthesis in Nannochloropsis strain NIES-2145 with a phosphorus starvation-inducible promoter from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Microalgae accumulate triacylglycerols (TAGs) under conditions of nutrient stress. Phosphorus (P) starvation induces the accumulation of TAGs, and the cells under P starvation maintain growth through photosynthesis. We recently reported that P starvation–dependent overexpression of type-2 diacylglycerol acyl-CoA acyltransferase (CrDGTT4) from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii using a sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerol synthase 2 (SQD2) promoter, which has increased activity during P starvation, enhances TAG accumulation in C. reinhardtii cells. As a result, the content of C18:1 fatty acid, a preferred substrate of CrDGTT4, is increased in TAGs. Here we isolated genes encoding SQD2 from strain NIES-2145 of the eustigmatophyte Nannochloropsis and showed that their expression, like that in C. reinhardtii, was up-regulated during P starvation. To enhance oil accumulation under P starvation, we transformed pCrSQD2-CrDGTT4 into Nannochloropsis strain NIES-2145. The transformants had a fatty acid composition that was more similar to that of C. reinhardtii, which resulted in enhanced TAG accumulation and higher 18:1(9) content. The results indicated that the P starvation–inducible promoter of C. reinhardtii was able to drive expression of the CrDGTT4 gene in Nannochloropsis strain NIES-2145 under P starvation. We conclude that the heterologous CrSQD2 promoter is effective in manipulating TAG synthesis in Nannochloropsis during P starvation.

The role of pyruvate hub enzymes in supplying carbon precursors for fatty acid synthesis in photosynthetic microalgae

Photosynthetic microalgae are currently the focus of basic and applied research due to an ever-growing interest in renewable energy resources. This review discusses the role of carbon-unit supply for the production of acetyl-CoA, a direct precursor of fatty acid biosynthesis and the primary building block of the growing acyl chains for the purpose of triacylglycerol (TAG) production in photosynthetic microalgae under stressful conditions. It underscores the importance of intraplastidic acetyl-CoA generation for storage lipid accumulation. The main focus is placed on two enzymatic steps linking the central carbon metabolism and fatty acid synthesis, namely the reactions catalyzed by the plastidic isoform of pyruvate kinase and the chloroplastic pyruvate dehydrogenase complex. Alternative routes for plastidic acetyl-CoA synthesis are also reviewed. A separate section is devoted to recent advances in functional genomics studies related to fatty acid and TAG biosynthesis.

Transcriptional coordination of physiological responses in Nannochloropsis oceanica CCMP1779 under light/dark cycles

Nannochloropsis oceanica CCMP1779 is a marine unicellular stramenopile and an emerging reference species for basic research on oleogenic microalgae with biotechnological relevance. We investigated its physiology and transcriptome under light/dark cycles. We observed oscillations in lipid content and a predominance of cell division in the first half of the dark phase. Globally, more than 60% of the genes cycled in N. oceanica CCMP1779, with gene expression peaking at different times of the day. Interestingly, the phase of expression of genes involved in certain biological processes was conserved across photosynthetic lineages. Furthermore, in agreement with our physiological studies we found the processes of lipid metabolism and cell division enriched in cycling genes. For example, there was tight coordination of genes involved in the lower part of glycolysis, fatty acid synthesis and lipid production at dawn preceding lipid accumulation during the day. Our results suggest that diel lipid storage plays a key role for N. oceanica CCMP1779 growth under natural conditions making this alga a promising model to gain a basic mechanistic understanding of triacylglycerol production in photosynthetic cells. Our data will help the formulation of new hypotheses on the role of cyclic gene expression in cell growth and metabolism in Nannochloropsis.

Screening and characterization of oleaginous Chlorella strains and exploration of photoautotrophic Chlorella protothecoides for oil production

The growth and oil production of nine Chlorella strains were comparatively assessed and Chlorellaprotothecoides CS-41 demonstrated the greatest lipid production potential. The effects of different nitrogen forms and concentrations, phosphorus concentrations and light intensities on growth and oil production were studied in laboratory columns. C. protothecoides CS-41 accumulated lipids up to 55% of dry weight, with triacylglycerol and oleic acid being 71% of total lipids and 59% of total fatty acids, respectively. High biomass and lipid productivities were achieved in outdoor panel PBRs, up to 1.25 and 0.59 g L(-1) day(-1), or 44. 1 and 16.1 g m(-2) day(-1), respectively. A two-stage cultivation strategy was proposed to enhance the algal biomass and lipid production. This is the first comprehensive investigation of both indoor and outdoor photoautotrophic C. protothecoides cultures for oil production, and C. protothecoides CS-41 represents a promising biofuel feedstock worthy of further exploration.

Sufficient utilization of natural fluctuating light intensity is an effective approach of promoting lipid productivity in oleaginous microalgal cultivation outdoors

The effects of fluctuating intensity of solar radiation on biomass and lipid in oleaginous microalgae are important. However, this topic has not been the subject of studies for a long time. In this study, four oleaginous microalgae from semi-arid areas were screened and cultivated outdoors under different fluctuating intensities. Results showed that the highest lipid productivities and neutral lipid (NL) contents occurred under high fluctuating intensity (HFI), in which 13-20% of the increased NL came from glycolipid transformation without phospholipid conversion. Chlorella sp. L1 and Monoraphidium dybowskii Y2 obtained from biological soil crusts in desert had the largest biomass (137.13, 106.61mgL(-1)d(-1)) and lipid yields (35.06, 32.45mgL(-1)d(-1)) under HFI. The highest areal lipid productivities of 9.06 and 8.95gm(-2)d(-1) and better biodiesel quality were observed under HFI. Accordingly, sufficiently adopting fluctuating light intensity outdoors to culture microalgae was an economic and effective approach.

Molecular mechanisms of the coordination between astaxanthin and fatty acid biosynthesis in Haematococcus pluvialis (Chlorophyceae)

Astaxanthin, a red ketocarotenoid with strong antioxidant activity and high commercial value, possesses important physiological functions in astaxanthin-producing microalgae. The green microalga Haematococcus pluvialis accumulates up to 4% fatty acid-esterified astaxanthin (by dry weight), and is used as a model species for exploring astaxanthin biosynthesis in unicellular photosynthetic organisms. Although coordination of astaxanthin and fatty acid biosynthesis in a stoichiometric fashion was observed in H. pluvialis, the interaction mechanism is unclear. Here we dissected the molecular mechanism underlying coordination between the two pathways in H. pluvialis. Our results eliminated possible coordination of this inter-dependence at the transcriptional level, and showed that this interaction was feedback-coordinated at the metabolite level. In vivo and in vitro experiments indicated that astaxanthin esterification drove the formation and accumulation of astaxanthin. We further showed that both free astaxanthin biosynthesis and esterification occurred in the endoplasmic reticulum, and that certain diacylglycerol acyltransferases may be the candidate enzymes catalyzing astaxanthin esterification. A model of astaxanthin biosynthesis in H. pluvialis was subsequently proposed. These findings provide further insights into astaxanthin biosynthesis in H. pluvialis.

Transcriptional program for nitrogen starvation-induced lipid accumulation in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

BACKGROUND

Algae accumulate lipids to endure different kinds of environmental stresses including macronutrient starvation. Although this response has been extensively studied, an in depth understanding of the transcriptional regulatory network (TRN) that controls the transition into lipid accumulation remains elusive. In this study, we used a systems biology approach to elucidate the transcriptional program that coordinates the nitrogen starvation-induced metabolic readjustments that drive lipid accumulation in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.

RESULTS

We demonstrate that nitrogen starvation triggered differential regulation of 2147 transcripts, which were co-regulated in 215 distinct modules and temporally ordered as 31 transcriptional waves. An early-stage response was triggered within 12 min that initiated growth arrest through activation of key signaling pathways, while simultaneously preparing the intracellular environment for later stages by modulating transport processes and ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation. Subsequently, central metabolism and carbon fixation were remodeled to trigger the accumulation of triacylglycerols. Further analysis revealed that these waves of genome-wide transcriptional events were coordinated by a regulatory program orchestrated by at least 17 transcriptional regulators, many of which had not been previously implicated in this process. We demonstrate that the TRN coordinates transcriptional downregulation of 57 metabolic enzymes across a period of nearly 4 h to drive an increase in lipid content per unit biomass. Notably, this TRN appears to also drive lipid accumulation during sulfur starvation, while phosphorus starvation induces a different regulatory program. The TRN model described here is available as a community-wide web-resource at http://networks.systemsbiology.net/chlamy-portal.

CONCLUSIONS

In this work, we have uncovered a comprehensive mechanistic model of the TRN controlling the transition from N starvation to lipid accumulation. The program coordinates sequentially ordered transcriptional waves that simultaneously arrest growth and lead to lipid accumulation. This study has generated predictive tools that will aid in devising strategies for the rational manipulation of regulatory and metabolic networks for better biofuel and biomass production.

Effects of overexpression of a bHLH transcription factor on biomass and lipid production in Nannochloropsis salina

BACKGROUND

Microalgae are considered promising alternative energy sources because they consume CO2 and accumulate large amounts of lipids that can be used as biofuel. Nannochloropsis is a particularly promising microalga due to its high growth rate and lipid content, and the availability of genomic information. Transcription factors (TFs) are global regulators of biological pathways by up- or down-regulation of related genes. Among these, basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) TFs regulate growth, development, and stress responses in plants and animals, and have been identified in microalgae. We identified two bHLH TFs in the genome of N. salina CCMP1776, NsbHLH1, and NsbHLH2, and characterized functions of NsbHLH2 that may be involved in growth and nutrient uptake.

RESULTS

We obtained NsbHLH2 overexpressing transformants of N. salina CCMP1776 by particle bombardment and confirmed that these were stable transformants. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blotting using antibodies against the FLAG tag that was attached at the end of the coding sequence confirmed the expression of the NsbHLH2 protein under various culture conditions. The qRT-PCR results also indicated that the endogenous and transgenic expression of NsbHLH2 was reduced under stressed conditions. Overexpression of NsbHLH2 led to increased growth rate in the early growth period, and concomitantly higher nutrient uptake, than wild type (WT). These enhanced growth and nutrient uptake resulted in increased productivities of biomass and FAME. For example, one of the transformants, NsbHLH2 3-6, showed increased biomass productivity by 36 % under the normal condition, and FAME productivity by 33 % under nitrogen limitation condition. Conclusively, the improved growth in the transformants can be associated with the enhanced nutrient uptake. We are currently assessing their potential for scale-up cultivation with positive outcomes.

CONCLUSION

Overexpression of NsbHLH2 led to enhanced growth rate and nutrient uptake during the early growth phase, and increased biomass and FAME productivity, especially in the later period under normal and stressed conditions. Based on these results, we postulate that NsbHLH2 can be employed for the industrial production of biodiesel from N. salina.

Downregulation of a putative plastid PDC E1α subunit impairs photosynthetic activity and triacylglycerol accumulation in nitrogen-starved photoautotrophic Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

The chloroplast pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (cpPDC) catalyses the oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvate forming acetyl-CoA, an immediate primer for the initial reactions of de novo fatty acid (FA) synthesis. Little is known about the source of acetyl-CoA in the chloroplasts of photosynthetic microalgae, which are capable of producing high amounts of the storage lipid triacylglycerol (TAG) under conditions of nutrient stresses. We generated Chlamydomonas reinhardtii CC-1618 mutants with decreased expression of the PDC2_E1α gene, encoding the putative chloroplast pyruvate dehydrogenase subunit E1α, using artificial microRNA. A comparative study on the effects of PDC2_E1α silencing on FAs and TAG production in C. reinhardtii, grown photoautotrophically and mixotrophically, with and without a nitrogen source in the nutrient medium, was carried out. Reduced expression of PDC2 _E1α led to a severely hampered photoautotrophic growth phenotype with drastic impairment in TAG accumulation under nitrogen deprivation. In the presence of acetate, downregulation of PDC2_E1α exerted little to no effect on TAG production and photosynthetic activity. In contrast, under photoautotrophic conditions, especially in the absence of a nitrogen source, a dramatic decline in photosynthetic oxygen evolution and photosystem II quantum yield against a background of the apparent over-reduction of the photosynthetic electron chain was recorded. Our results suggest an essential role of cpPDC in the supply of carbon precursors for de novo FA synthesis in microalgae under conditions of photoautotrophy. A shortage of this supply is detrimental to the nitrogen-starvation-induced synthesis of storage TAG, an important carbon and energy sink in stressed Chlamydomonas cells, thereby impairing the acclimation ability of the microalga.

Highly-efficient enzymatic conversion of crude algal oils into biodiesel

Energy-intensive chemical conversion of crude algal oils into biodiesel is a major barrier for cost-effective algal biofuel production. To overcome this problem, we developed an enzyme-based platform for conversion of crude algal oils into fatty acid methyl esters. Crude algal oils were extracted from the oleaginous microalga Nannochloropsis oceanica IMET1 and converted by an immobilized lipase from Candida antarctica. The effects of different acyl acceptors, t-butanol as a co-solvent, oil to t-butanol ratio, oil to methanol ratio, temperature and reaction time on biodiesel conversion efficiency were studied. The conversion efficiency reached 99.1% when the conversion conditions were optimized, i.e., an oil to t-butanol weight ratio of 1:1, an oil to methanol molar ratio of 1:12, and a reaction time of 4h at 25°C. The enzymatic conversion process developed in this study may hold a promise for low energy consumption, low wastewater-discharge biochemical conversion of algal feedstocks into biofuels.

Rapid neutral lipid accumulation of the alkali-resistant oleaginous Monoraphidium dybowskii LB50 by NaCl induction

NaCl is an effective inducer of lipid accumulation in freshwater microalgae, but little is known on whether the enhanced lipid components are desired. To address this issue, Monoraphidium dybowskii LB50 from a freshwater habitat was selected, cultivated, and subjected to NaCl induction at different scales outdoors. Results showed that the optimal salt concentration reduced glycolipid (GL) content, as well as enhanced neutral lipid (NL) and phospholipid (PL) contents. Moreover, GL was preferentially converted to NL at 20gL(-1) NaCl. Total lipid and NL contents respectively increased to 41.7% and 17.48% in 1d. The highest NL productivity was also achieved at both the 5L (24.13mgL(-1)d(-1)) and 140L (13.05mgL(-1)d(-1), 3.43gm(-2)d(-1)) scales. These results suggest that NL accumulated effectively and rapidly at different scales, indicating that this strategy has broad application prospects for the scale-up cultivation of oily algae.

Antagonistic roles of abscisic acid and cytokinin during response to nitrogen depletion in oleaginous microalga Nannochloropsis oceanica expand the evolutionary breadth of phytohormone function

The origin of phytohormones is poorly understood, and their physiological roles in microalgae remain elusive. Genome comparison of photosynthetic autotrophic eukaryotes has revealed that the biosynthetic pathways of abscisic acid (ABA) and cytokinins (CKs) emerged in unicellular algae. While ABA and CK degradation mechanisms emerged broadly in algal lineages, complete vascular plant-type conjugation pathways emerged prior to the rise of Streptophyta. In microalgae, a complete set of proteins from the canonical ABA and CK sensing and signaling pathways is not essential, but individual components are present, suggesting stepwise recruitment of phytohormone signaling components. In the oleaginous eustigmatophyte Nannochloropsis oceanica IMET1, UHPLC-MS/MS detected a wide array of plant hormones, despite a phytohormone profile that is very distinct from that of flowering plants. Time-series transcriptional analysis during nitrogen depletion revealed activation of the ABA biosynthetic pathway and antagonistic transcription of CK biosynthetic genes. Correspondingly, the ABA level increases while the dominant bioactive CK forms decrease. Moreover, exogenous CKs stimulate cell-cycle progression while exogenous ABA acts as both an algal growth repressor and a positive regulator in response to stresses. The presence of such functional flowering plant-like phytohormone signaling systems in Nannochloropsis sp. suggests a much earlier origin of phytohormone biosynthesis and degradation than previously believed, and supports the presence in microalgae of as yet unknown conjugation and sensing/signaling systems that may be exploited for microalgal feedstock development.

Genome-wide identification of transcription factors and transcription-factor binding sites in oleaginous microalgae Nannochloropsis

Nannochloropsis spp. are a group of oleaginous microalgae that harbor an expanded array of lipid-synthesis related genes, yet how they are transcriptionally regulated remains unknown. Here a phylogenomic approach was employed to identify and functionally annotate the transcriptional factors (TFs) and TF binding-sites (TFBSs) in N. oceanica IMET1. Among 36 microalgae and higher plants genomes, a two-fold reduction in the number of TF families plus a seven-fold decrease of average family-size in Nannochloropsis, Rhodophyta and Chlorophyta were observed. The degree of similarity in TF-family profiles is indicative of the phylogenetic relationship among the species, suggesting co-evolution of TF-family profiles and species. Furthermore, comparative analysis of six Nannochloropsis genomes revealed 68 “most-conserved” TFBS motifs, with 11 of which predicted to be related to lipid accumulation or photosynthesis. Mapping the IMET1 TFs and TFBS motifs to the reference plant TF-“TFBS motif” relationships in TRANSFAC enabled the prediction of 78 TF-“TFBS motif” interaction pairs, which consisted of 34 TFs (with 11 TFs potentially involved in the TAG biosynthesis pathway), 30 TFBS motifs and 2,368 regulatory connections between TFs and target genes. Our results form the basis of further experiments to validate and engineer the regulatory network of Nannochloropsis spp. for enhanced biofuel production.

Transcript abundance on its own cannot be used to infer fluxes in central metabolism

An attempt has been made to define the extent to which metabolic flux in central plant metabolism is reflected by changes in the transcriptome and metabolome, based on an analysis of in vitro cultured immature embryos of two oilseed rape (Brassica napus) accessions which contrast for seed lipid accumulation. Metabolic flux analysis (MFA) was used to constrain a flux balance metabolic model which included 671 biochemical and transport reactions within the central metabolism. This highly confident flux information was eventually used for comparative analysis of flux vs. transcript (metabolite). Metabolite profiling succeeded in identifying 79 intermediates within the central metabolism, some of which differed quantitatively between the two accessions and displayed a significant shift corresponding to flux. An RNA-Seq based transcriptome analysis revealed a large number of genes which were differentially transcribed in the two accessions, including some enzymes/proteins active in major metabolic pathways. With a few exceptions, differential activity in the major pathways (glycolysis, TCA cycle, amino acid, and fatty acid synthesis) was not reflected in contrasting abundances of the relevant transcripts. The conclusion was that transcript abundance on its own cannot be used to infer metabolic activity/fluxes in central plant metabolism. This limitation needs to be borne in mind in evaluating transcriptome data and designing metabolic engineering experiments.

Regulation of the cholesterol biosynthetic pathway and its integration with fatty acid biosynthesis in the oleaginous microalga Nannochloropsis oceanica

BACKGROUND

Sterols are vital structural and regulatory components in eukaryotic cells; however, their biosynthetic pathways and functional roles in microalgae remain poorly understood.

RESULTS

In the oleaginous microalga Nannochloropsis oceanica, the sterol biosynthetic pathway produces phytosterols as minor products and cholesterol as the major product. The evidence together with their deduced biosynthetic pathways suggests that N. oceanica exhibits features of both higher plants and mammals. Temporal tracking of sterol profiles and sterol-biosynthetic transcripts in response to changes in light intensity and nitrogen supply reveal that sterols play roles in cell proliferation, chloroplast differentiation, and photosynthesis. Furthermore, the dynamics of fatty acid (FA) and FA-biosynthetic transcripts upon chemical inhibitor-induced sterol depletion reveal possible co-regulation of sterol production and FA synthesis, in that the squalene epoxidase inhibitor terbinafine reduces sterol content yet significantly elevates free FA production. Thus, a feedback regulation of sterol and FA homeostasis is proposed, with the 1-deoxy-D-xylulose 5-phosphate synthase (DXS, the committed enzyme in isoprenoid and sterol biosynthesis) gene potentially subject to feedback regulation by sterols.

CONCLUSION

These findings reveal features of sterol function and biosynthesis in microalgae and suggest new genetic engineering or chemical biology approaches for enhanced oil production in microalgae.