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Published on: August 8, 2019
Metabolomic analysis reveals astaxanthin biosynthesis in heterotrophic microalga Chromochloris zofingiensis
Qiaohong Chen1, Yi Chen1, Qiang Hu2
1Center for Microalgal Biotechnology and Biofuels, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, China; College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
Abstract:
The utilization of gibberellic acid-3, high carbon/nitrogen ratio and salinity concentration can effectively enhance astaxanthin biosynthesis in Chromochloris zofingiensis under the heterotrophic conditions, but the underlying mechanisms remained yet to be investigated. The metabolomics analysis revealed that enhancement of the glycolysis, pentose phosphate pathways (PPP), and tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle led to astaxanthin accumulation under the induction conditions. The increased fatty acids can significantly increase astaxanthin esterification. The addition of appropriate concentrations of glycine (Gly) and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) promoted astaxanthin biosynthesis in C. zofingiensis, as well as benefiting for biomass yield. With the addition of 0.5 mM GABA, the astaxanthin yield increased to 0.35 g·L-1, which was 1.97-fold higher than that of the control. This study advanced understanding about astaxanthin biosynthesis in heterotrophic microalga, and provided novel strategies for enhanced astaxanthin production in C. zofingiensis.
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