Project description:The oleaginous green microalga Neochloris oleoabundans accumulates both starch and lipids to high levels under stress conditions such as nitrogen starvation. In order to steer the metabolism towards starch or lipids only, it is important to understand the mechanisms behind it. In this study physiological changes and gene expression upon nitrogen starvation were analysed in controlled flat-panel photobioreactors over both short- and long-term time-scales. Starch accumulation is transient and occurs rapidly within 24 hrs upon starvation, while lipid accumulation lasts longer and reaches a maximum after 4 days. The major fraction of accumulated lipids is composed of de novo synthesized neutral lipids - triacylglycerides (TAG) - and is characterized by a decreased composition of the polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) C18:3 and C16:3 and an increased composition of the mono-unsaturated and saturated fatty acids C18:1/C16:1 and C18:0/C16:0, respectively. RNA-sequencing revealed that genes related to starch biosynthesis and degradation show different temporal expression dynamics compared to those of lipid biosynthesis. An immediate rapid increase in starch synthesis gene expression is followed by an increase in starch degradation and decrease in starch synthesis gene expression. In contrast, increased gene expression for fatty acid and TAG synthesis is initiated later and occurs more gradually. Expression of several fatty acid desaturase (FAD) genes was decreased upon starvation, which corresponds to the observed changes to higher levels of mono-unsaturated and saturated fatty acids. Moreover, several homologs of transcription regulators that were implicated in controlling starch and lipid metabolism in other microalgae showed differential gene expression and might be key regulators of starch and lipid metabolism in N. oleoabundans as well. Promising candidates for future metabolic engineering are a DYRKP homolog that in Chlamydomonas acts as a negative regulator of carbon storage and photosynthetic efficiency under N-starvation, and two bZIP-type regulators that have been implicated to control several steps in microalgal TAG synthesis. Our data for the first time show the temporal dynamics of storage compound accumulation and transcriptional changes on a short- and long-term time-scale during nitrogen starvation in N. oleoabundans, and increases insight into the genetic foundation for starch and lipid metabolism in this microalga. This information and the identified target genes can now be used for metabolic engineering strategies towards tailored N. oleoabundans strains for industrial applications with increased lipid production and altered fatty acid composition.

Project description:2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) is a potent aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) agonist that elicits a broad spectrum of dose-dependent effects in the liver, including hepatic lipid accumulation coupled with inflammation. To determine the role of inflammatory lipid mediators in TCDD-mediated hepatotoxicity, eicosanoid metabolism was investigated in female Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. Rats were gavaged with sesame oil vehicle or 0.01-10 µg/kg TCDD every 4 days for 28 days. Hepatic RNA-Seq data from female SD rats was compared with data from female C57BL/6 mice and functionally annotated to determine key toxicogenomic differences between the two species regarding TCDD exposure. Hepatic RNA-Seq data from female SD rats integrated with untargeted metabolomics of liver, serum, and urine identified dose-dependent changes in linoleic acid (LA) and arachidonic acid (AA) metabolism. TCDD also elicited dose-dependent differential gene expression associated with cyclooxygenase, lipoxygenase, and cytochrome P450 epoxidation/ hydroxylation pathways with corresponding changes in omega-6 (e.g. AA and LA) and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) as well as their eicosanoid metabolites. Overall, total omega-6 PUFAs increased, while total omega-3 PUFAs decreased. Phospholipase A2 (Pla2g12a) was induced 6-fold consistent with increased AA metabolism, while AA utilization by lipoxygenases Alox5 (2-fold) and Alox15 (10-fold) increased leukotrienes (LTs), important mediators signaling an inflammatory response. More specifically, TCDD increased pro-inflammatory eicosanoids, including leukotriene (LT) B4 (3-fold), and LTB3 (5-fold), known signals for the recruitment of neutrophils to areas of tissue damage. Dose-response modeling of metabolite and gene expression changes suggests the cytochrome P450 hydroxylase/epoxygenase and the lipoxygenase pathways are the most sensitive to TCDD. While several differentially expressed genes (DEGs) associated with eicosanoid biosynthesis contained putative dioxin response elements (pDRE) within their regulatory region, ChIP-Seq analysis showed little AhR enrichment, suggesting TCDD-elicited induction of eicosanoid biosynthesis is not a direct effect of AhR activation.

Project description:The optimal ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) is important for keeping homeostasis of biological processes and metabolism, yet the underlying biological mechanism is poorly understood. The objective of this study was to identify changes in the pig liver transcriptome induced by a diet enriched with omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids, and to characterize the biological mechanisms related to PUFA metabolism. Polish Landrace pigs (n =12) were fed diet enriched with linoleic acid (LA, omega-6) and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA, omega-3 family) or standard diet as a control. The fatty acids profiling was assayed in order to verify how feeding influenced the fatty acids content in liver, and subsequently next-generation sequencing (NGS) was used to identify differentially expressed genes (DEG) between transcriptomes between dietary groups. The biological mechanisms and pathway interaction networks were identified by analysis in DAVID and Cytoscape tools. Fatty acids profile analysis indicated a higher contribution of PUFAs in liver for LA and ALA-enriched diet group, particularly for the omega-3 fatty acids family, but not omega-6. Next-generation sequencing identified 3,565 DEG, 1,484 of which were induced and 2,081 were suppressed by PUFA supplemenation. Low ratio of omega-6/-3 fatty acids resulted in modulation of fatty acids metabolism pathways and over-representation of genes involved in membrane composition, signal transduction and immune response pathways. In conclusion, a diet enriched with omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids altered the transcriptomic profile of the pig liver and affected a set of genes involved in metabolic pathways important to animal health status. Hepatic mRNA profiles of Polish Landrace pig breed fed two different diets, were generated by deep sequencing, using Illumina MiSeq. Experimental diet was enriched with polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega-6 and omega-3), while standard diet remain as a cotrol. 2 pooled samples each containing RNA extracts from 6 individuals livers were analyzed.

Dataset Information

Comparative transcriptome analysis of yeast expressing the fungal desaturases

Publications

Heterologous production of polyunsaturated fatty acids in Saccharomyces cerevisiae causes a global transcriptional response resulting in reduced proteasomal activity and increased oxidative stress.

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