Abstract
Chlamydomonas sp. ICE-L, which can thrive in extreme environments of the Antarctic, could represent a promising alternative for polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) production. A new Δ12-fatty acid desaturase (FAD)-encoding gene (Δ12CiFAD), 1269 bp in size, was cloned from Chlamydomonas sp. ICE-L. Bioinformatics analysis showed that Δ12CiFAD-encoded protein was homologous to known FADs with conserved histidine motifs, and localized to the chloroplast. Functional analysis of Δ12CiFAD indicated that recombinant Synechococcus 6803 expressing Δ12CiFAD could accumulate C18:2, whereas recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae expressing this enzyme could not accumulate C18:2 or any other new fatty acids. These results indicate that Δ12CiFAD is a functional enzyme in the chloroplast that can adjust Chlamydomonas sp. ICE-L cell membrane fluidity to adapt to Antarctic extreme low-temperature environments, which give us insights into the frigostable and cold-resistant mechanisms of hypothermic organisms.
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Funding
This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2018YFD0900705), the China Ocean Mineral Resources R&D Association (No. DY135-B2-14), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2018YFD0901103), the Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41576187, No. 41776203), the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong (No. ZR2019BD023), Key Research and Development Program of Shandong Province (No. 2018GHY115034, No. 2018YYSP024, No. 2016YYSP017, No. 2017GHY15112, No. 2018GHY115039), Ningbo Public Service Platform for High-Value Utilization of Marine Biological Resources (No. NBHY-2017-P2), and Youth Fund Project of Shandong Natural Science Foundation (ZR2017QD008).
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He, Y., Zheng, Z., An, M. et al. Molecular cloning and functional analysis of a Δ12-fatty acid desaturase from the Antarctic microalga Chlamydomonas sp. ICE-L. 3 Biotech 9, 328 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13205-019-1858-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13205-019-1858-6