BioChem - DOS

Metabolic engineering of Phaeodactylum tricornutum for the enhanced accumulation of omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids

Metabolic engineering

Hamilton, Mary L.; Haslam, Richard P.; Napier, Johnathan A.; Sayanova, Olga

<▼1><P>We have engineered the diatom <I>Phaeodactylum tricornutum</I> to accumulate the high value omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). This was achieved by the generation of transgenic strains in which the &Delta;5-elongase from the picoalga <I>Ostreococcus tauri</I> was expressed to augment the endogenous fatty acid biosynthetic pathway. Expression of the heterologous elongase resulted in an eight-fold increase in docosahexaenoic acid content, representing a marked and valuable change in the fatty acid profile of this microalga. Importantly, DHA was shown to accumulate in triacylglycerols, with several novel triacylglycerol species being detected in the transgenic strains. In a second iteration, co-expression of an acyl-CoA-dependent &Delta;6-desaturase with the &Delta;5-elongase further increased DHA levels. Together, this demonstrates for the first time the potential of using iterative metabolic engineering to optimise omega-3 content in algae.</P></▼1><▼2><P><B>Highlights</B></P><P>&#x2022;<P>First example of using metabolic engineering in microalgae to modify the accumulation of high value omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids.</P>&#x2022;<P>First example of multigene expression in a diatom.</P>&#x2022;<P>Detailed lipidomic analysis of diatom <I>Phaeodactylum tricornutum</I>.</P></P></▼2>

2014

Academic Press

cc-by

1096-7176

1096-7184

22

pp.3-9

10.1016/j.ymben.2013.12.003

http://click.ndsl.kr/servlet/OpenAPIDetailView?keyValue=05787966&target=NART&cn=NART68796058

DAG, diacylglycerol; DGAT, acyl-CoA:diacylglyceroltransferase; DHA, docosahexaenoic acid; DPA, docosapentaenoic acid; EPA, eicosapentaenoic acid; LC-PUFA, long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid; MGDG, monogalactosyldiacylglycerol; TAG, triacylglycerol; Diatoms; Genetic engineering; Lipids; Microalgae; Omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids