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Functional characterization of the Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous farnesyl pyrophosphate synthase and geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate synthase encoding genes that are involved in the synthesis of isoprenoid precursors.

ABSTRACT: The yeast Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous synthesizes the carotenoid astaxanthin, which has applications in biotechnology because of its antioxidant and pigmentation properties. However, wild-type strains produce too low amounts of carotenoids to be industrially competitive. Considering this background, it is indispensable to understand how the synthesis of astaxanthin is controlled and regulated in this yeast. In this work, the steps leading to the synthesis of the carotenoid precursor geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate (GGPP, C20) in X. dendrorhous from isopentenyl pyrophosphate (IPP, C5) and dimethylallyl pyrophosphate (DMAPP, C5) was characterized. Two prenyl transferase encoding genes, FPS and crtE, were expressed in E. coli. The enzymatic assays using recombinant E. coli protein extracts demonstrated that FPS and crtE encode a farnesyl pyrophosphate (FPP, C15) synthase and a GGPP-synthase, respectively. X. dendrorhous FPP-synthase produces geranyl pyrophosphate (GPP, C10) from IPP and DMAPP and FPP from IPP and GPP, while the X. dendrorhous GGPP-synthase utilizes only FPP and IPP as substrates to produce GGPP. Additionally, the FPS and crtE genes were over-expressed in X. dendrorhous, resulting in an increase of the total carotenoid production. Because the parental strain is diploid, the deletion of one of the alleles of these genes did not affect the total carotenoid production, but the composition was significantly altered. These results suggest that the over-expression of these genes might provoke a higher carbon flux towards carotenogenesis, most likely involving an earlier formation of a carotenogenic enzyme complex. Conversely, the lower carbon flux towards carotenogenesis in the deletion mutants might delay or lead to a partial formation of a carotenogenic enzyme complex, which could explain the accumulation of astaxanthin carotenoid precursors in these mutants. In conclusion, the FPS and the crtE genes represent good candidates to manipulate to favor carotenoid biosynthesis in X. dendrorhous.

SUBMITTER: Alcaino J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4010515 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Functional characterization of the Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous farnesyl pyrophosphate synthase and geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate synthase encoding genes that are involved in the synthesis of isoprenoid precursors.

Alcaíno Jennifer J Romero Ignacio I Niklitschek Mauricio M Sepúlveda Dionisia D Rojas María Cecilia MC Baeza Marcelo M Cifuentes Víctor V

PloS one 20140505 5

The yeast Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous synthesizes the carotenoid astaxanthin, which has applications in biotechnology because of its antioxidant and pigmentation properties. However, wild-type strains produce too low amounts of carotenoids to be industrially competitive. Considering this background, it is indispensable to understand how the synthesis of astaxanthin is controlled and regulated in this yeast. In this work, the steps leading to the synthesis of the carotenoid precursor geranylger ...[more]

PMID: 24796858

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Project description:BackgroundOccurrence of extrachromosomal dsRNA elements has been described in the red-yeast Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous, with numbers and sizes that are highly variable among strains with different geographical origin. The studies concerning to the encapsidation in viral-like particles and dsRNA-curing have suggested that some dsRNAs are helper viruses, while others are satellite viruses. However, the nucleotide sequences and functions of these dsRNAs are still unknown. In this work, the nucleotide sequences of four dsRNAs of the strain UCD 67-385 of X. dendrorhous were determined, and their identities and genome structures are proposed. Based on this molecular data, the dsRNAs of different strains of X. dendrorhous were analyzed.ResultsThe complete sequences of L1, L2, S1 and S2 dsRNAs of X. dendrorhous UCD 67-385 were determined, finding two sequences for L1 dsRNA (L1A and L1B). Several ORFs were uncovered in both S1 and S2 dsRNAs, but no homologies were found for any of them when compared to the database. Instead, two ORFs were identified in each L1A, L1B and L2 dsRNAs, whose deduced amino acid sequences were homologous with a major capsid protein (5'-ORF) and a RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (3'-ORF) belonging to the Totiviridae family. The genome structures of these dsRNAs are characteristic of Totiviruses, with two overlapped ORFs (the 3'-ORF in the -1 frame with respect to the 5'-ORF), with a slippery site and a pseudoknot in the overlapped regions. These structures are essential for the synthesis of the viral polymerase as a fusion protein with the viral capsid protein through -1 ribosomal frameshifting. In the RNase protection analysis, all the dsRNAs in the four analyzed X. dendrorhous strains were protected from enzymatic digestion. The RT-PCR analysis revealed that, similar to strain UCD 67-385, the L1A and L1B dsRNAs coexist in the strains VKM Y-2059, UCD 67-202 and VKM Y-2786. Furthermore, determinations of the relative amounts of L1 dsRNAs using two-step RT-qPCR revealed a 40-fold increment of the ratio L1A/L1B in the S2 dsRNA-cured strain compared to its parental strain.ConclusionsThree totiviruses, named as XdV-L1A, XdV-L1B and XdV-L2, were identified in the strain UCD 67-385 of X. dendrorhous. The viruses XdV-L1A and XdV-L1B were also found in other three X. dendrorhous strains. Our results suggest that the smaller dsRNAs (named XdRm-S1 and XdRm-S2) of strain UCD 67-385 are satellite viruses, and particularly that XdRm-S2 is a satellite of XdV-L1A.

Dataset Information

Functional characterization of the Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous farnesyl pyrophosphate synthase and geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate synthase encoding genes that are involved in the synthesis of isoprenoid precursors.

Publications

Functional characterization of the Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous farnesyl pyrophosphate synthase and geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate synthase encoding genes that are involved in the synthesis of isoprenoid precursors.

Similar Datasets

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