Arginine-fed cultures generates triacylglycerol by triggering nitrogen starvation responses during robust growth in Chlamydomonas

The tiny giant of the sea, Ostreococcus's unique adaptations

Ostreococcus spp. are unicellular organisms with one of the simplest cellular organizations. The sequencing of the genomes of different Ostreococcus species has reinforced this status since Ostreococcus tauri has one most compact nuclear genomes among eukaryotic organisms. Despite this, it has retained a number of genes, setting it apart from other organisms with similar small genomes. Ostreococcus spp. feature a substantial number of selenocysteine-containing proteins, which, due to their higher catalytic activity compared to their selenium-lacking counterparts, may require a reduced quantity of proteins. Notably, O. tauri encodes several ammonium transporter genes, that may provide it with a competitive edge for acquiring nitrogen (N). This characteristic makes it an intriguing model for studying the efficient use of N in eukaryotes. Under conditions of low N availability, O. tauri utilizes N from abundant proteins or amino acids, such as L-arginine, similar to higher plants. However, the presence of a nitric oxide synthase (L-arg substrate) sheds light on a new metabolic pathway for L-arg in algae. The metabolic adaptations of O. tauri to day and night cycles offer valuable insights into carbon and iron metabolic configuration. O. tauri has evolved novel strategies to optimize iron uptake, lacking the classic components of the iron absorption mechanism. Overall, the cellular and genetic characteristics of Ostreococcus contribute to its evolutionary success, making it an excellent model for studying the physiological and genetic aspects of how green algae have adapted to the marine environment. Furthermore, given its potential for lipid accumulation and its marine habitat, it may represent a promising avenue for third-generation biofuels.

Trends on Chlamydomonas reinhardtii growth regimes and bioproducts

The green microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is a model microorganism for several areas of study. Among the different microalgae species, it presents advantageous characteristics, such as genomes completely sequenced and well-established techniques for genetic transformation. Despite that, C. reinhardtii production is still not easily commercially viable, especially due to the low biomass yield. So far there are no reports of scientometric study focusing only on C. reinhardtii biomass production process. Considering the need for culture optimization, a scientometric research was conducted to analyze the papers that investigated the growth regimes effects in C. reinhardtii cultivation. The search resulted in 130 papers indexed on Web of Science and Scopus platforms from 1969 to December 2022. The quantitative analysis indicated that the photoautotrophic regime was the most employed in the papers. However, when comparing the three growth regimes, the mixotrophic one led to the highest production of biomass, lipids, and heterologous protein. The production of bioproducts was considered the main objective of most of the papers and, among them, biomass was the most frequently investigated. The highest biomass production reported among the papers was 40 g L-1 in the heterotrophic growth of a transgenic strain. Other culture conditions were also crucial for C. reinhardtii growth, for instance, temperature and cultivation process.

From Feasting to Fasting: The Arginine Pathway as a Metabolic Switch in Nitrogen-Deprived Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

The metabolism of the model microalgae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii under nitrogen deprivation is of special interest due to its resulting increment of triacylglycerols (TAGs), that can be applied in biotechnological applications. However, this same condition impairs cell growth, which may limit the microalgae's large applications. Several studies have identified significant physiological and molecular changes that occur during the transition from an abundant to a low or absent nitrogen supply, explaining in detail the differences in the proteome, metabolome and transcriptome of the cells that may be responsible for and responsive to this condition. However, there are still some intriguing questions that reside in the core of the regulation of these cellular responses that make this process even more interesting and complex. In this scenario, we reviewed the main metabolic pathways that are involved in the response, mining and exploring, through a reanalysis of omics data from previously published datasets, the commonalities among the responses and unraveling unexplained or non-explored mechanisms of the possible regulatory aspects of the response. Proteomics, metabolomics and transcriptomics data were reanalysed using a common strategy, and an in silico gene promoter motif analysis was performed. Together, these results identified and suggested a strong association between the metabolism of amino acids, especially arginine, glutamate and ornithine pathways to the production of TAGs, via the de novo synthesis of lipids. Furthermore, our analysis and data mining indicate that signalling cascades orchestrated with the indirect participation of phosphorylation, nitrosylation and peroxidation events may be essential to the process. The amino acid pathways and the amount of arginine and ornithine available in the cells, at least transiently during nitrogen deprivation, may be in the core of the post-transcriptional, metabolic regulation of this complex phenomenon. Their further exploration is important to the discovery of novel advances in the understanding of microalgae lipids' production.

Advanced pathway engineering for phototrophic putrescine production

The polyamine putrescine (1,4-diaminobutane) contributes to cellular fitness in most organisms, where it is derived from the amino acids ornithine or arginine. In the chemical industry, putrescine serves as a versatile building block for polyamide synthesis. The green microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii accumulates relatively high putrescine amounts, which, together with recent advances in genetic engineering, enables the generation of a powerful green cell factory to promote sustainable biotechnology for base chemical production. Here, we report a systematic investigation of the native putrescine metabolism in C. reinhardtii, leading to the first CO₂ -based bio-production of putrescine, by employing modern synthetic biology and metabolic engineering strategies. A CRISPR/Cas9-based knockout of key enzymes of the polyamine biosynthesis pathway identified ornithine decarboxylase 1 (ODC1) as a gatekeeper for putrescine accumulation and demonstrated that the arginine decarboxylase (ADC) route is likely inactive and that amine oxidase 2 (AMX2) is mainly responsible for putrescine degradation in C. reinhardtii. A 4.5-fold increase in cellular putrescine levels was achieved by engineered overexpression of potent candidate ornithine decarboxylases (ODCs). We identified unexpected substrate promiscuity in two bacterial ODCs, which exhibited co-production of cadaverine and 4-aminobutanol. Final pathway engineering included overexpression of recombinant arginases for improved substrate availability as well as functional knockout of putrescine degradation, which resulted in a 10-fold increase in cellular putrescine titres and yielded 200 mg/L in phototrophic high cell density cultivations after 10 days.

The relationship between amino acid and lipid metabolism in oleaginous eukaryotic microorganism

Amino acids are the building blocks of protein, promoting the balance between growth and lipid synthesis. However, the accumulation of microbial lipids involves multiple pathways, which requires the analysis of the global cellular metabolic network in which amino acid metabolism is involved. This review illustrates the dependence patterns of intracellular amino acids and lipids of oleaginous eukaryotic microorganisms in different environments and points out the contribution of amino acid metabolic precursors to the de novo synthesis of fatty acids. We emphasized the key role of amino acid metabolism in lipid remodeling and autophagy behavior and highlighted the regulatory effects of amino acids and their secondary metabolites as signal factors for microbial lipid synthesis. The application prospects of omics technology and genetic engineering technology in the field of microbial lipids are described. KEY POINTS: • Overview of microbial lipid synthesis mediated by amino acid metabolism • Insight into metabolic mechanisms founding multiple regulatory networks is provided • Description of microbial lipid homeostasis mediated by amino acid excitation signal.

Lipid Droplets in Unicellular Photosynthetic Stramenopiles

The Heterokonta or Stramenopile phylum comprises clades of unicellular photosynthetic species, which are promising for a broad range of biotechnological applications, based on their capacity to capture atmospheric CO₂ via photosynthesis and produce biomolecules of interest. These molecules include triacylglycerol (TAG) loaded inside specific cytosolic bodies, called the lipid droplets (LDs). Understanding TAG production and LD biogenesis and function in photosynthetic stramenopiles is therefore essential, and is mostly based on the study of a few emerging models, such as the pennate diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum and eustigmatophytes, such as Nannochloropsis and Microchloropsis species. The biogenesis of cytosolic LD usually occurs at the level of the endoplasmic reticulum. However, stramenopile cells contain a complex plastid deriving from a secondary endosymbiosis, limited by four membranes, the outermost one being connected to the endomembrane system. Recent cell imaging and proteomic studies suggest that at least some cytosolic LDs might be associated to the surface of the complex plastid, via still uncharacterized contact sites. The carbon length and number of double bonds of the acyl groups contained in the TAG molecules depend on their origin. De novo synthesis produces long-chain saturated or monounsaturated fatty acids (SFA, MUFA), whereas subsequent maturation processes lead to very long-chain polyunsaturated FA (VLC-PUFA). TAG composition in SFA, MUFA, and VLC-PUFA reflects therefore the metabolic context that gave rise to the formation of the LD, either via an early partitioning of carbon following FA de novo synthesis and/or a recycling of FA from membrane lipids, e.g., plastid galactolipids or endomembrane phosphor- or betaine lipids. In this review, we address the relationship between cytosolic LDs and the complex membrane compartmentalization within stramenopile cells, the metabolic routes leading to TAG accumulation, and the physiological conditions that trigger LD production, in response to various environmental factors.