Molecules and Cells

Korean Society for Molecular and Cellular Biology (한국분자세포생물학회)
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CrABCA2 Facilitates Triacylglycerol Accumulation in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii under Nitrogen Starvation

  • Jang, Sunghoon (Department of Life Sciences, Pohang University of Science and Technology) ;
  • Kong, Fantao (School of Bioengineering, Dalian University of Technology) ;
  • Lee, Jihyeon (Integrative Biosciences and Biotechnology, Pohang University of Science and Technology) ;
  • Choi, Bae Young (Integrative Biosciences and Biotechnology, Pohang University of Science and Technology) ;
  • Wang, Pengfei (Cellular and Molecular Biology Program, State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong) ;
  • Gao, Peng (Cellular and Molecular Biology Program, State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong) ;
  • Yamano, Takashi (Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University) ;
  • Fukuzawa, Hideya (Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University) ;
  • Kang, Byung-Ho (Cellular and Molecular Biology Program, State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong) ;
  • Lee, Youngsook (Integrative Biosciences and Biotechnology, Pohang University of Science and Technology)
  • Received : 2019.11.07
  • Accepted : 2019.12.02
  • Published : 2020.01.31
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Abstract

The microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii accumulates triacylglycerols (TAGs) in lipid droplets under stress conditions, such as nitrogen starvation. TAG biosynthesis occurs mainly at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and requires fatty acid (FA) substrates supplied from chloroplasts. How FAs are transferred from chloroplast to ER in microalgae was unknown. We previously reported that an Arabidopsis thaliana ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter, AtABCA9, facilitates FA transport at the ER during seed development. Here we identified a gene homologous to AtABCA9 in the C. reinhardtii genome, which we named CrABCA2. Under nitrogen deprivation conditions, CrABCA2 expression was upregulated, and the CrABCA2 protein level also increased. CrABCA2 knockdown lines accumulated less TAGs and CrABCA2 overexpression lines accumulated more TAGs than their untransformed parental lines. Transmission electron microscopy showed that CrABCA2 was localized in swollen ER. These results suggest that CrABCA2 transports substrates for TAG biosynthesis to the ER during nitrogen starvation. Our study provides a potential tool for increasing lipid production in microalgae.

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