Biotech Updates

Overexpressed Soybean Gene Increases Lipid Content in Chlorella ellipsoidea

September 18, 2014
http://www.biotechnologyforbiofuels.com/content/7/1/128

Many attempts have been made to increase lipid content of microalgae for biodiesel through genetic engineering. Lipid accumulation was previously achieved but had limited cell growth. In this study by Zanmin Hu of Chinese Academy of Sciences in China, soybean gene GmDof4, known to affect lipid content in Arabidopsis, was inserted into Chlorella ellipsoidea to determine the mechanism behind possible  enhancement of lipid content.

The overexpression of GmDof4 significantly enhanced the lipid content and did not affect the growth rate of the host cells. Transcriptome profiles indicated that several genes were differentially regulated, and in the transgenic strains, these include the 22 genes involved in lipid and fatty acid metabolism. Analysis revealed that GmDof4 significantly up-regulated the gene expression and activity of acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase, a key enzyme for fatty acid synthesis, in the transgenics.

The expression of the GmDof4 gene from soybean significantly increased lipid content but did not affect the growth rate of C. ellipsoidea. The increase could be attributed to the large number of genes with regulated expression.