RESUMO
BACKGROUND: When cultivated under stress conditions, many microalgae species accumulate both starch and oil (triacylglycerols). The model green microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii has recently emerged as a model to test genetic engineering or cultivation strategies aiming at increasing lipid yields for biodiesel production. Blocking starch synthesis has been suggested as a way to boost oil accumulation. Here, we characterize the triacylglycerol (TAG) accumulation process in Chlamydomonas and quantify TAGs in various wild-type and starchless strains. RESULTS: In response to nitrogen deficiency, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii produced TAGs enriched in palmitic, oleic and linoleic acids that accumulated in oil-bodies. Oil synthesis was maximal between 2 and 3 days following nitrogen depletion and reached a plateau around day 5. In the first 48 hours of oil deposition, a ~80% reduction in the major plastidial membrane lipids occurred. Upon nitrogen re-supply, mobilization of TAGs started after starch degradation but was completed within 24 hours. Comparison of oil content in five common laboratory strains (CC124, CC125, cw15, CC1690 and 11-32A) revealed a high variability, from 2 µg TAG per million cell in CC124 to 11 µg in 11-32A. Quantification of TAGs on a cell basis in three mutants affected in starch synthesis (cw15sta1-2, cw15sta6 and cw15sta7-1) showed that blocking starch synthesis did not result in TAG over-accumulation compared to their direct progenitor, the arginine auxotroph strain 330. Moreover, no significant correlation was found between cellular oil and starch levels among the twenty wild-type, mutants and complemented strains tested. By contrast, cellular oil content was found to increase steeply with salt concentration in the growth medium. At 100 mM NaCl, oil level similar to nitrogen depletion conditions could be reached in CC124 strain. CONCLUSION: A reference basis for future genetic studies of oil metabolism in Chlamydomonas is provided. Results highlight the importance of using direct progenitors as control strains when assessing the effect of mutations on oil content. They also suggest the existence in Chlamydomonas of complex interplays between oil synthesis, genetic background and stress conditions. Optimization of such interactions is an alternative to targeted metabolic engineering strategies in the search for high oil yields.
Assuntos
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii/metabolismo , Ácidos Graxos/metabolismo , Amido/metabolismo , Triglicerídeos/metabolismo , Reatores Biológicos , Chlamydomonas reinhardtii/química , Chlamydomonas reinhardtii/classificação , Clorofila , Ácidos Graxos/química , Microscopia Eletrônica de Transmissão , Modelos Biológicos , Nitrogênio/deficiência , Oxazinas/química , Cloreto de Sódio/química , Amido/química , Triglicerídeos/químicaRESUMO
Research into diatom biology has now entered the post-genomics era, following the recent completion of the Thalassiosira pseudonana and Phaeodactylum tricornutum whole genome sequences and the establishment of Expressed Sequence Tag (EST) databases. The thorough exploitation of these resources will require the development of molecular tools to analyze and modulate the function of diatom genes in vivo. Towards this objective, we report here the identification of several reference genes that can be used as internal standards for gene expression studies by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) in P. tricornutum cells grown over a diel cycle. In addition, we describe a series of diatom expression vectors based on Invitrogen Gateway technology for high-throughput protein tagging and overexpression studies in P. tricornutum. We demonstrate the utility of the diatom Destination vectors for determining the subcellular localization of a protein of interest and for immunodetection. The availability of these new resources significantly enriches the molecular toolbox for P. tricornutum and provides the diatom research community with well defined high-throughput methods for the analysis of diatom genes and proteins in vivo.
Assuntos
Diatomáceas/genética , Perfilação da Expressão Gênica/métodos , Animais , Etiquetas de Sequências Expressas , Vetores Genéticos , Genoma , Recombinação Genética , Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase Via Transcriptase ReversaRESUMO
The essential C17 subunit of yeast RNA polymerase (Pol) III interacts with Brf1, a component of TFIIIB, suggesting a role for C17 in the initiation step of transcription. The protein sequence of C17 (encoded by RPC17) is conserved from yeasts to humans. However, mammalian homologues of C17 (named CGRP-RCP) are known to be involved in a signal transduction pathway related to G protein-coupled receptors, not in transcription. In the present work, we first establish that human CGRP-RCP is the genuine orthologue of C17. CGRP-RCP was found to functionally replace C17 in Deltarpc17 yeast cells; the purified mutant Pol III contained CGRP-RCP and had a decreased specific activity but initiated faithfully. Furthermore, CGRP-RCP was identified by mass spectrometry in a highly purified human Pol III preparation. These results suggest that CGRP-RCP has a dual function in mammals. Next, we demonstrate by genetic and biochemical approaches that C17 forms with C25 (encoded by RPC25) a heterodimer akin to Rpb4/Rpb7 in Pol II. C17 and C25 were found to interact genetically in suppression screens and physically in coimmunopurification and two-hybrid experiments. Sequence analysis and molecular modeling indicated that the C17/C25 heterodimer likely adopts a structure similar to that of the archaeal RpoE/RpoF counterpart of the Rpb4/Rpb7 complex. These RNA polymerase subunits appear to have evolved to meet the distinct requirements of the multiple forms of RNA polymerases.
Assuntos
Proteínas Fúngicas/metabolismo , RNA Polimerase III/metabolismo , RNA Polimerase II/metabolismo , Receptores de Peptídeo Relacionado com o Gene de Calcitonina/metabolismo , Proteínas de Saccharomyces cerevisiae/metabolismo , Sequência de Aminoácidos , Animais , Proteínas Arqueais/genética , Proteínas Arqueais/metabolismo , Proteínas de Bactérias/química , Proteínas de Bactérias/genética , Proteínas de Bactérias/metabolismo , Dimerização , Proteínas Fúngicas/genética , Humanos , Substâncias Macromoleculares , Mamíferos , Modelos Moleculares , Dados de Sequência Molecular , Mutação , Conformação Proteica , RNA Polimerase II/química , RNA Polimerase II/genética , RNA Polimerase III/genética , Receptores de Peptídeo Relacionado com o Gene de Calcitonina/genética , Proteínas de Saccharomyces cerevisiae/química , Proteínas de Saccharomyces cerevisiae/genética , Homologia de Sequência de Aminoácidos , Fator sigma/química , Fator sigma/genética , Fator sigma/metabolismo , Supressão Genética , Fatores de Transcrição/química , Fatores de Transcrição/genética , Fatores de Transcrição/metabolismo , Leveduras/genética , Leveduras/metabolismoRESUMO
A43, an essential subunit of yeast RNA polymerase I (pol I), interacts with Rrn3, a class I general transcription factor required for rDNA transcription. The pol I-Rrn3 complex is the only form of enzyme competent for promoter-dependent transcription initiation. In this paper, using biochemical and genetic approaches, we demonstrate that the A43 polypeptide forms a stable heterodimer with the A14 pol I subunit and interacts with the common ABC23 subunit, the yeast counterpart of the omega subunit of bacterial RNA polymerase. We show by immunoelectronic microscopy that A43, ABC23, and A14 colocalize in the three-dimensional structure of the pol I, and we demonstrate that the presence of A43 is required for the stabilization of both A14 and ABC23 within the pol I. Because the N-terminal half of A43 is clearly related to the pol II Rpb7 subunit, we propose that the A43-A14 pair is likely the pol I counterpart of the Rpb7-Rpb4 heterodimer, although A14 distinguishes from Rpb4 by specific sequence and structure features. This hypothesis, combined with our structural data, suggests a new localization of Rpb7-Rpb4 subunits in the three-dimensional structure of yeast pol II.