scholarly journals Expressing a cytosolic pyruvate dehydrogenase complex to increase free fatty acid production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yiming Zhang ◽  
Mo Su ◽  
Ning Qin ◽  
Jens Nielsen ◽  
Zihe Liu

Abstract Background Saccharomyces cerevisiae is being exploited as a cell factory to produce fatty acids and their derivatives as biofuels. Previous studies found that both precursor supply and fatty acid metabolism deregulation are essential for enhanced fatty acid synthesis. A bacterial pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) complex expressed in the yeast cytosol was reported to enable production of cytosolic acetyl-CoA with lower energy cost and no toxic intermediate. Results Overexpression of the PDH complex significantly increased cell growth, ethanol consumption and reduced glycerol accumulation. Furthermore, to optimize the redox imbalance in production of fatty acids from glucose, two endogenous NAD + -dependent glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenases were deleted, and a heterologous NADP + -dependent glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase was introduced. The best fatty acid producing strain PDH7 with engineering of precursor and co-factor metabolism could produce 840.5 mg/L free fatty acids (FFAs) in shake flask, which was 83.2% higher than the control strain YJZ08. Profile analysis of free fatty acid suggested the cytosolic PDH complex mainly resulted in the increases of unsaturated fatty acids (C16:1 and C18:1). Conclusions We demonstrated that cytosolic PDH pathway enabled more efficient acetyl-CoA provision with the lower ATP cost, and improved FFA production. Together with engineering of the redox factor rebalance, the cytosolic PDH pathway could achieve high level of FFA production at similar levels of other best acetyl-CoA producing pathways.

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yiming Zhang ◽  
Mo Su ◽  
Ning Qin ◽  
Jens Nielsen ◽  
Zihe Liu

Abstract Background Saccharomyces cerevisiae is being exploited as a cell factory to produce fatty acids and their derivatives as biofuels. Previous studies found that both precursor supply and fatty acid metabolism deregulation are essential for enhanced fatty acid synthesis. A bacterial pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) complex expressed in the yeast cytosol was reported to enable production of cytosolic acetyl-CoA with lower energy cost and no toxic intermediate. Results Overexpression of the PDH complex significantly increased cell growth, ethanol consumption and reduced glycerol accumulation. Furthermore, to optimize the redox imbalance in production of fatty acids from glucose, two endogenous NAD+-dependent glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenases were deleted, and a heterologous NADP+-dependent glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase was introduced. The best fatty acid producing strain PDH7 with engineering of precursor and co-factor metabolism could produce 840.5 mg/L free fatty acids (FFAs) in shake flask, which was 83.2% higher than the control strain YJZ08. Profile analysis of free fatty acid suggested the cytosolic PDH complex mainly resulted in the increases of unsaturated fatty acids (C16:1 and C18:1). Conclusions We demonstrated that cytosolic PDH pathway enabled more efficient acetyl-CoA provision with the lower ATP cost, and improved FFA production. Together with engineering of the redox factor rebalance, the cytosolic PDH pathway could achieve high level of FFA production at similar levels of other best acetyl-CoA producing pathways.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yiming Zhang ◽  
Mo Su ◽  
Ning Qin ◽  
Jens Nielsen ◽  
Zihe Liu

Abstract Background Saccharomyces cerevisiae is being exploited as a cell factory to produce fatty acids and their derivatives as biofuels. Previous studies found that both precursor supply and fatty acid metabolism deregulation are essential for enhanced fatty acid synthesis. A bacterial pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) complex expressed in the yeast cytosol was reported to enable production of cytosolic acetyl-CoA with lower energy cost and no toxic intermediate. Results Overexpression of the PDH complex significantly increased cell growth, ethanol consumption and reduced glycerol accumulation. Furthermore, to optimize the redox imbalance in production of fatty acids from glucose, two endogenous NAD+-dependent glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenases were deleted, and a heterologous NADP+-dependent glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase was introduced. The final strain with engineering of precursor and co-factor metabolism could produce 840.5 mg/L free fatty acid in shake flask, which was 83.2% higher than the control strain. Profile analysis of free fatty acid suggested the cytosolic PDH complex mainly resulted in the increases of unsaturated fatty acids (C16:1 and C18:1). Conclusions We demonstrated that cytosolic PDH pathway enabled more efficient acetyl-CoA provision with the lower ATP cost, and improved FFA production. Together with engineering of the redox factor rebalance, the cytosolic PDH pathway could achieve high level of FFA production at similar levels of other best acetyl-CoA producing pathways.


2016 ◽  
Vol 311 (1) ◽  
pp. E117-E127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saleh Mahmood ◽  
Barbara Birkaya ◽  
Todd C. Rideout ◽  
Mulchand S. Patel

During the absorptive state, the liver stores excess glucose as glycogen and synthesizes fatty acids for triglyceride synthesis for export as very low density lipoproteins. For de novo synthesis of fatty acids from glucose, the mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC) is the gatekeeper for the generation of acetyl-CoA from glucose-derived pyruvate. Here, we tested the hypothesis that limiting the supply of PDC-generated acetyl-CoA from glucose would have an impact on expression of key genes in the lipogenic pathway. In the present study, although the postnatal growth of liver-specific PDC-deficient (L-PDCKO) male mice was largely unaltered, the mice developed hyperinsulinemia with lower blood glucose levels in the fed state. Serum and liver lipid triglyceride and cholesterol levels remained unaltered in L-PDCKO mice. Expression of several key genes ( ACL, ACC1) in the lipogenic pathway and their upstream regulators ( LXR, SREBP1, ChREBP) as well as several genes in glucose metabolism ( Pklr, G6pd2, Pck1) and fatty acid oxidation ( FAT, Cpt1a) was downregulated in livers from L-PDCKO mice. Interestingly, there was concomitant upregulation of lipogenic genes in adipose tissue from L-PDCKO mice. Although, the total hepatic acetyl-CoA content remained unaltered in L-PDCKO mice, modified acetylation profiles of proteins in the nuclear compartment suggested an important role for PDC-generated acetyl-CoA in gene expression in de novo fatty acid synthesis in the liver. This finding has important implications for the regulation of hepatic lipid synthesis in pathological states.


1994 ◽  
Vol 49 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 421-426 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Golz ◽  
Hartmut K. Lichtenthaler

The activity of the plastidic pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (pPDHC) is one source of acetyl-CoA in plastids of higher plants needed for de novo fatty acid biosynthesis. This plastidic enzyme reaction is specifically inhibited by acetylmethylphosphinate (AMPI), a com ­ pound which had hitherto been known only as an inhibitor of the mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (mPDHC). In the test system of isolated intact oat plastids (Avena sativa) [2-14C]pyruvate was used for de novo fatty acid biosynthesis. The incorporation of label from [2-14C]pyruvate in fatty acids was inhibited by AMPI in a dose-dependent manner. The inhibition rose with increasing preincubation time of plastids with the inhibitor. I50 values for the inhibition of de novo fatty acid biosynthesis from [2-14C]pyruvate by AMPI for iso­lated etioplasts and chloroplasts were 4.5 and 80 μm , respectively. The activity of the pPDHC decreased during greening of oat seedlings, as is seen from the decreasing incorporation of [2-14C]pyruvate into fatty acids during the light-induced transformation of etioplasts into chloroplasts. In contrast to the decreasing pPDHC activity, the activity of the plastidic acetyl-C oA synthetase (ACS), which transfers acetate to acetyl-CoA, rose parallel to the transfor­mation of etioplasts into chloroplasts. During the assay time of 20 min we could not detect an incorporation of radiolabel from pyruvate or acetate into β-carotene or any other carotenoid


1994 ◽  
Vol 267 (4) ◽  
pp. E528-E536 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Cipres ◽  
E. Urcelay ◽  
N. Butta ◽  
M. S. Ayuso ◽  
R. Parrilla ◽  
...  

This work aimed to determine the role played by the adrenal gland in the fatty acid control of gluconeogenesis in isolated perfused rat livers. The gluconeogenic substrate concentration responses were not altered in adrenalectomized (ADX) rats. This observation indicates that glucocorticoids are not essential to maintain normal basal gluconeogenic rates. In contrast, fatty acid failed to stimulate gluconeogenesis from lactate and elicited attenuated stimulation with pyruvate as substrate in livers from ADX rats. Fatty acid-induced stimulation of respiration and ketone body production were similar in control and ADX rats. Thus the diminished responsiveness of the gluconeogenic pathway to fatty acid cannot be the result of different rates of energy production and/or generation of reducing power. Fatty acids did not inhibit pyruvate decarboxylation in livers from ADX rats. Even though mitochondria isolated from livers of ADX rats showed normal basal rates of pyruvate metabolism, fatty acids failed to inhibit pyruvate decarboxylation and the activity of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex. This novel observation of the glucocorticoid effect in controlling the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex responsiveness indicates that the mitochondrial partitioning of pyruvate between carboxylation and decarboxylation reactions may be altered in livers from ADX rats. We propose that the diminished effect of fatty acid in stimulating gluconeogenesis in livers from ADX rats is the result of a limited pyruvate availability for the carboxylase reaction due to a lack of inhibition of flux through the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex.


Open Biology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 190049 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yating Hu ◽  
Zhiwei Zhu ◽  
Jens Nielsen ◽  
Verena Siewers

The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a widely used cell factory for the production of fuels and chemicals, in particular ethanol, a biofuel produced in large quantities. With a need for high-energy-density fuels for jets and heavy trucks, there is, however, much interest in the biobased production of hydrocarbons that can be derived from fatty acids. Fatty acids also serve as precursors to a number of oleochemicals and hence provide interesting platform chemicals. Here, we review the recent strategies applied to metabolic engineering of S. cerevisiae for the production of fatty acid-derived biofuels and for improvement of the titre, rate and yield (TRY). This includes, for instance, redirection of the flux towards fatty acids through engineering of the central carbon metabolism, balancing the redox power and varying the chain length of fatty acids by enzyme engineering. We also discuss the challenges that currently hinder further TRY improvements and the potential solutions in order to meet the requirements for commercial application.


1985 ◽  
Vol 40 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 917-918 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uwe Homeyer ◽  
D. Schulze-Siebert ◽  
G. Schultz

Abstract In vitro incubation of intact spinach chloroplasts with 1 mᴍ Pyruvate was used to study the specificity of action of the herbicide Chlorsulfuron on the synthesis of valine, alanine and fatty acids. As a result, increasing concentrations of the herbicide strongly inhibited valine synthesis while fatty acid synthesis via pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC) and alanine formation by transamination reaction was promoted.


mBio ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Harmen M. van Rossum ◽  
Barbara U. Kozak ◽  
Matthijs S. Niemeijer ◽  
James C. Dykstra ◽  
Marijke A. H. Luttik ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTIn many eukaryotes, the carnitine shuttle plays a key role in intracellular transport of acyl moieties. Fatty acid-grownSaccharomyces cerevisiaecells employ this shuttle to translocate acetyl units into their mitochondria. Mechanistically, the carnitine shuttle should be reversible, but previous studies indicate that carnitine shuttle-mediated export of mitochondrial acetyl units to the yeast cytosol does not occurin vivo. This apparent unidirectionality was investigated by constitutively expressing genes encoding carnitine shuttle-related proteins in an engineeredS. cerevisiaestrain, in which cytosolic acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA) synthesis could be switched off by omitting lipoic acid from growth media. Laboratory evolution of this strain yielded mutants whose growth on glucose, in the absence of lipoic acid, wasl-carnitine dependent, indicating thatin vivoexport of mitochondrial acetyl units to the cytosol occurred via the carnitine shuttle. The mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase complex was identified as the predominant source of acetyl-CoA in the evolved strains. Whole-genome sequencing revealed mutations in genes involved in mitochondrial fatty acid synthesis (MCT1), nuclear-mitochondrial communication (RTG2), and encoding a carnitine acetyltransferase (YAT2). Introduction of these mutations into the nonevolved parental strain enabledl-carnitine-dependent growth on glucose. This study indicates intramitochondrial acetyl-CoA concentration and constitutive expression of carnitine shuttle genes as key factors in enablingin vivoexport of mitochondrial acetyl units via the carnitine shuttle.IMPORTANCEThis study demonstrates, for the first time, thatSaccharomyces cerevisiaecan be engineered to employ the carnitine shuttle for export of acetyl moieties from the mitochondria and, thereby, to act as the sole source of cytosolic acetyl-CoA. Further optimization of this ATP-independent mechanism for cytosolic acetyl-CoA provision can contribute to efficient, yeast-based production of industrially relevant compounds derived from this precursor. The strains constructed in this study, whose growth on glucose depends on a functional carnitine shuttle, provide valuable models for further functional analysis and engineering of this shuttle in yeast and other eukaryotes.


1978 ◽  
Vol 31 (5) ◽  
pp. 565 ◽  
Author(s):  
GT Lloyd ◽  
AJ Hillier ◽  
I Barlow ◽  
G Rjago

The pathway of formation of acetate from pyruvate in the homofermentative organism L. bulgaricus was studied. Three pathways for the formation of acetate were investigated. These were the formation of acetyl CoA by the pyruvate dehydrogenase (lipoate) system, the formation of acetaldehyde by pyruvate decarboxylase, and the formation of acetyl phosphate by pyruvate oxidase. The first two pathways were eliminated when it was found that the formation of acetate was not inhibited by arsenite and that acetaldehyde was not converted to acetate by L. bulgaricus. The formation of acetyl phosphate and acetate by dialysed cell-free extracts indicated the presence of pyruvate oxidase in L. bulgaricus. The pyruvate oxidase system, unlike the pyruvate dehydrogenase (lipoate) system, was not inhibited by unsaturated fatty acids. The organism was shown to possess both acetate kinase and phosphate acetyltransferase which suggested that acetyl phosphate could be converted to acetate or acetyl CoA.


2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 2971-2978
Author(s):  
EMAN TAWFIK HUSSIEN ◽  
◽  
MOHAMMED IBRAHIM DAHAB ◽  
KAREEM MOHAMMED ABD-ELATTY ◽  
ISLAM HAMDY EL-SHENAWY ◽  
...  

Zea mays is an important crop and an essential source of fatty acids. Hence, increasing and adding new fatty acids led to the enhancement of these properties. Transformation of external Acetyl-CoA gene (Aco) can enhance fatty acid components, as ACo is expressed into Acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACCase) enzyme, which is the first essential step in the fatty acid production process. Chitosan nanoparticles are safe and fast polymer nanoparticles that are applied for gene transformation. Conventional PCR was performed for the detection of the ACo gene in both transgenic and nontransgenic maize lines. The results confirm the presence of the gene in the transgenic lines and absence in non-transgenic lines. The Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis for fatty acid contents in transgenic and non-transgenic maize lines showed an increase in fatty acid contents in transgenic lines compared to non-transgenic ones. Besides, the transgenic maize’s lines produced extra new fatty acids not found in non-transgenic ones.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document