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Association of triacylglyceride content and transcript abundance of genes involving in lipid synthesis of nitrogen deficient Phaeodactylum tricornutum

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Abstract

Phaeodactylum tricornutum is a diatom that is rich in lipids. Recently, it has received much attention as a feedstock for biodiesel production. Nitrogen deficiency is widely known to increase the content of neutral lipids (mainly triacylglycerides, or TAGs) of microalgae, including P. tricornutum, but the mechanism is unclear. In this study, we deciphered the correlations between TAG content and nine key enzymatic genes involved in lipid synthesis in P. tricornutum. After being cultured under nitrogen-free conditions for 0, 4, 24, 48, 72, 120, and 168 h, the TAG contents of P. tricornutum cells were assayed and the transcript abundances of the target genes were monitored by quantitative real-time PCR. The results show that the abundances of four target gene transcripts (LACS3, G3PDH2, G3PDH3, and G3PDH5) were positively correlated with TAG content, indicating that these genes may be involved in TAG synthesis in P. tricornutum. The findings improve our understanding of the metabolic network and regulation of lipid synthesis and will guide the future genetic improvement of the TAG content of P. tricornutum.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Applied Microalgae Biology, Key Laboratory of Mariculture of Ministry of Education of China, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266003, China

    Lin Zhang  (张琳), Jichang Han  (韩吉昌), Baohua Zhu  (朱葆华) & Kehou Pan  (潘克厚)

  2. College of Marine Life Sciences, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266003, China

    Guanpin Yang  (杨官品)

Authors
  1. Lin Zhang  (张琳)
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  2. Jichang Han  (韩吉昌)
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  3. Guanpin Yang  (杨官品)
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  4. Baohua Zhu  (朱葆华)
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  5. Kehou Pan  (潘克厚)
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kehou Pan  (潘克厚).

Additional information

Supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) (No. 2011CB200901), the National Key Technology Research and Development Program (No. 2011BAD14B01), the Promotive Research Fund for Excellent Young and Middle-Aged Scientists of Shandong Province (No. BS2010SW037), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31270408)

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Zhang, L., Han, J., Yang, G. et al. Association of triacylglyceride content and transcript abundance of genes involving in lipid synthesis of nitrogen deficient Phaeodactylum tricornutum . Chin. J. Ocean. Limnol. 32, 397–402 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-014-3173-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-014-3173-8

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