AUTHOR=Wang Rui , Miao Xiaoling 

TITLE=Lipid turnover and SQUAMOSA promoter-binding proteins mediate variation in fatty acid desaturation under early nitrogen deprivation revealed by lipidomic and transcriptomic analyses in Chlorella pyrenoidosa

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=Volume 13 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2022.987354

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2022.987354

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=Nitrogen deprivation induces variations in fatty acid desaturation in microalgae, which determines the performance of biodiesel and the nutritional value of bioproducts. However, the detailed scenario and the underlying regulatory mechanism remain unclear. In this study, we attempt to outline these scenario and mechanisms by performing biochemical, lipidomic, and transcriptomic analyses in Chlorella pyrenoidosa and functional characterization of transcription factors in Yarrowia lipolytica. We found that early nitrogen deprivation dramatically reduced fatty acid desaturation without increasing lipid content. The contents of palmitic acid (16:0) and oleic acid (18:1) dramatically increased to 2.14 and 2.87 times that of nitrogen repletion on the second day, respectively. Lipidomic analysis showed the transfer of polyunsaturated fatty acids from phospholipids and glycolipids to triacylglycerols, as well as an increase of lipid species with 16:0 or 18:1 under nitrogen deprivation conditions. Up-regulated stearoyl-ACP desaturase and oleyl-ACP thioesterase promoted the synthesis of 18:1, but restricted acetyl-CoA supply revealed that it was intensive lipid turnover instead of an attenuated Kennedy pathway that played an important role in the variation of fatty acid composition under early nitrogen deprivation. Finally, two differentially expressed SQUAMOSA promoter-binding proteins (SBPs) were heterologously expressed in Yarrowia lipolytica, demonstrating their role in promoting the accumulation of total fatty acid and the reduction of fatty acid desaturation. These results revealed the crucial role of lipid turnover and SBPs in determining fatty acid desaturation under early nitrogen deprivation, opening new avenues for the metabolic engineering of fatty acid desaturation in microalgae.