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Lipase genes in Mucor circinelloides: identification, sub-cellular location, phylogenetic analysis and expression profiling during growth and lipid accumulation

  • Genetics and Molecular Biology of Industrial Organisms - Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology

Abstract

Lipases or triacylglycerol hydrolases are widely spread in nature and are particularly common in the microbial world. The filamentous fungus Mucor circinelloides is a potential lipase producer, as it grows well in triacylglycerol-contained culture media. So far only one lipase from M. circinelloides has been characterized, while the majority of lipases remain unknown in this fungus. In the present study, 47 potential lipase genes in M. circinelloides WJ11 and 30 potential lipase genes in M. circinelloides CBS 277.49 were identified by extensive bioinformatics analysis. An overview of these lipases is presented, including several characteristics, sub-cellular location, phylogenetic analysis and expression profiling of the lipase genes during growth and lipid accumulation. All of these proteins contained the consensus sequence for a classical lipase (GXSXG motif) and were divided into four types including α/β-hydrolase_1, α/β-hydrolase_3, class_3 and GDSL lipase (GDSL) based on gene annotations. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that class_3 family and α/β-hydrolase_3 family were the conserved lipase family in M. circinelloides. Additionally, some lipases also contained a typical acyltransferase motif of H-(X) 4-D, and these lipases may play a dual role in lipid metabolism, catalyzing both lipid hydrolysis and transacylation reactions. The differential expression of all lipase genes were confirmed by quantitative real-time PCR, and the expression profiling were analyzed to predict the possible biological roles of these lipase genes in lipid metabolism in M. circinelloides. We preliminarily hypothesized that lipases may be involved in triacylglycerol degradation, phospholipid synthesis and beta-oxidation. Moreover, the results of sub-cellular localization, the presence of signal peptide and transcriptional analyses of lipase genes indicated that four lipase in WJ11 most likely belong to extracellular lipases with a signal peptide. These findings provide a platform for the selection of candidate lipase genes for further detailed functional study.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31271812 and 21276108), the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (2012AA022105C), the Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University (IRT1249), the Program for New Century Excellent Talents (NCET-13-0831).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, People’s Republic of China

    Xinyi Zan, Xin Tang, Linfang Chu, Lina Zhao, Haiqin Chen, Yong Q. Chen, Wei Chen & Yuanda Song

  2. Colin Ratledge Center for Microbial Lipids, School of Agriculture Engineering and Food Science, Shandong University of Technology, Zibo, People’s Republic of China

    Yuanda Song

  3. Synergistic Innovation Center for Food Safety and Nutrition, Wuxi, People’s Republic of China

    Haiqin Chen, Yong Q. Chen & Wei Chen

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  1. Xinyi Zan
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  2. Xin Tang
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  3. Linfang Chu
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  4. Lina Zhao
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Correspondence to Yuanda Song.

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Zan, X., Tang, X., Chu, L. et al. Lipase genes in Mucor circinelloides: identification, sub-cellular location, phylogenetic analysis and expression profiling during growth and lipid accumulation. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol 43, 1467–1480 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10295-016-1820-0

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