Development of a chloroplast expression system for Dunaliella salina.

Dunaliella salina is an innovative expression system due to its distinct advantages such as high salt tolerance, low susceptibility to contamination, and the absence of the cell wall. While nuclear transformation has been extensively studied, research on D. salina chloroplast transformation remains in the preliminary stages. In this study, we established an efficient chloroplast expression system for D. salina using Golden Gate assembly. We developed a D. salina toolkit comprising essential components such as chloroplast-specific promoters, terminators, homologous fragments, and various vectors. We confirmed its functionality by expressing the EGFP protein. Moreover, we detailed the methodology of the entire construction process. This expression system enables the specific targeting of foreign genes through simple homologous recombination, resulting in stable expression in chloroplasts. The toolkit achieved a relatively high transformation efficiency within a shorter experimental cycle. Consequently, the construction and utilization of this toolkit have the potential to enhance the efficiency of transgenic engineering in D. salina and advance the development of microalgal biofactories.

DbMADS regulates carotenoid metabolism by repressing two carotenogenic genes in the green alga Dunaliella sp. FACHB-847.

MADS transcription factors are involved in the regulation of fruit development and carotenoid metabolism in plants. However, whether and how carotenoid accumulation is regulated by algal MADS are largely unknown. In this study, we first used functional complementation to confirm the functional activity of phytoene synthase from the lutein-rich Dunaliella sp. FACHB-847 (DbPSY), the key rate-limiting enzyme in the carotenoid biosynthesis. Promoters of DbPSY and DbLcyB (lycopene ß-cyclase) possessed multiple cis-acting elements such as light-, UV-B-, dehydration-, anaerobic-, and salt-responsive elements, W-box, and C-A-rich-G-box (MADS-box). Meanwhile, we isolated one nucleus-localized MADS transcription factor (DbMADS), belonging to type I MADS gene. Three carotenogenic genes, DbPSY, DbLcyB, and DbBCH (ß-carotene hydroxylase) genes were upregulated at later stages, which was well correlated with the carotenoid accumulation. In contrast, DbMADS gene was highly expressed at lag phase with low carotenoid accumulation. Yeast one-hybrid assay and dual-luciferase reporter assay demonstrated that DbMADS could directly bind to the promoters of two carotenogenic genes, DbPSY and DbLcyB, and repress their transcriptions. This study suggested that DbMADS may act as a negative regulator of carotenoid biosynthesis by repressing DbPSY and DbLcyB at the lag phase, which provide new insights into the regulatory mechanisms of carotenoid metabolism in Dunaliella.

Roles of Two Phytoene Synthases and Orange Protein in Carotenoid Metabolism of the ß-Carotene-Accumulating Dunaliella salina.

Phytoene synthase (PSY) is a key enzyme in carotenoid metabolism and often regulated by orange protein. However, few studies have focused on the functional differentiation of the two PSYs and their regulation by protein interaction in the ß-carotene-accumulating Dunaliella salina CCAP 19/18. In this study, we confirmed that DsPSY1 from D. salina possessed high PSY catalytic activity, whereas DsPSY2 almost had no activity. Two amino acid residues at positions 144 and 285 responsible for substrate binding were associated with the functional variance between DsPSY1 and DsPSY2. Moreover, orange protein from D. salina (DsOR) could interact with DsPSY1/2. DbPSY from Dunaliella sp. FACHB-847 also had high PSY activity, but DbOR could not interact with DbPSY, which might be one reason why it could not highly accumulate ß-carotene. Overexpression of DsOR, especially the mutant DsORHis, could significantly improve the single-cell carotenoid content and change cell morphology (with larger cell size, bigger plastoglobuli, and fragmented starch granules) of D. salina. Overall, DsPSY1 played a dominant role in carotenoid biosynthesis in D. salina, and DsOR promoted carotenoid accumulation, especially ß-carotene via interacting with DsPSY1/2 and regulating the plastid development. Our study provides a new clue for the regulatory mechanism of carotenoid metabolism in Dunaliella. IMPORTANCE Phytoene synthase (PSY) as the key rate-limiting enzyme in carotenoid metabolism can be regulated by various regulators and factors. We found that DsPSY1 played a dominant role in carotenogenesis in the ß-carotene-accumulating Dunaliella salina, and two amino acid residues critical in the substrate binding were associated with the functional variance between DsPSY1 and DsPSY2. Orange protein from D. salina (DsOR) can promote carotenoid accumulation via interacting with DsPSY1/2 and regulating the plastid development, which provides new insights into the molecular mechanism of massive accumulation of ß-carotene in D. salina.

A strategy to promote carotenoids production in Dunaliella bardawil by melatonin combined with photoinduction.

Microalgae are considered to be a very promising class of raw material for carotenoid production. In this study, melatonin (MLT), a widely used plant growth regulator, was added to the autotrophic medium of Dunaliella bardawil to explore its effects on the growth and pigment accumulation of Dunaliella bardawil. The results showed that the induction of exogenous MLT alone was not beneficial to the growth and pigment accumulation of Dunaliella bardawil, and the higher the concentration, the more obvious the inhibitory effect on the algal cells. Therefore, a strategy to promote carotenoid accumulation in Dunaliella bardawil by combining exogenous MLT and light induction was carried out. Under 4500 LUX light intensity, the content of zeaxanthin was significantly increased under exogenous MLT induction. In the 200 µg/mL, 300 µg/mL, and 400 µg/mL MLT-treated groups, the zeaxanthin single-cell content in the 300 µg/mL-treated group was as high as 0.38 ng/mL (0.17 ng/mL in the control group), which was 1.24-fold higher compared to the control. Under 9500 LUX light intensity, all carotenoids showed an increasing trend in all experimental groups, except for zeaxanthin, which showed a decreasing trend. The effect of 300 µg/mL showed the most obvious in the 200 µg/mL,300 µg/mL, and 400 µg/mL MLT treatment groups, where the lutein, α-carotene and ß-carotene contents were 1.24, 1.14 and 1.31 times higher than those of the control group, respectively. Overall, exogenous MLT at high light intensities had a significant effect on pigment accumulation in Dunaliella bardawil.

Creatinine combined with light increases the contents of lutein and ß-carotene, the main carotenoids of Dunaliella bardawil.

Dunaliella bardawil, a unicellular green alga, can accumulate a large amount of lutein and ß-carotene under stresses. Using chemical inducers combined with abiotic stress to promote the accumulation of high value-added products such as lipids and carotenoids in microalgae has attracted more and more attention. In this study, creatinine was added into autotrophic medium to investigate its effects on the growth, chlorophyll content, and the ingredients and content of carotenoids in D. bardawil. The results showed that creatinine alone could significantly increase the biomass, chlorophyll and carotenoid contents of D. bardawil, among which the contents of lutein and ß-carotene were further increased, while the content of zeaxanthin was decreased. In order to further improve the content of the two carotenoids, different light intensities combined with creatinine have been adopted. Under 6.589 W/m2 light intensity, creatinine could effectively increase the production of lutein, zeaxanthin, α-carotene and ß-carotene. Compared with the control, the content of lutein increased by 46 % and the content of ß-carotene increased by 77 % when the concentration of creatinine was 500 µg/mL. In conclusion, creatinine can effectively improve the production lutein and ß-carotene in D. bardawil, which is more conducive under lower light intensity.