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The role of pyruvate hub enzymes in supplying carbon precursors for fatty acid synthesis in photosynthetic microalgae

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Abstract

Photosynthetic microalgae are currently the focus of basic and applied research due to an ever-growing interest in renewable energy resources. This review discusses the role of carbon-unit supply for the production of acetyl-CoA, a direct precursor of fatty acid biosynthesis and the primary building block of the growing acyl chains for the purpose of triacylglycerol (TAG) production in photosynthetic microalgae under stressful conditions. It underscores the importance of intraplastidic acetyl-CoA generation for storage lipid accumulation. The main focus is placed on two enzymatic steps linking the central carbon metabolism and fatty acid synthesis, namely the reactions catalyzed by the plastidic isoform of pyruvate kinase and the chloroplastic pyruvate dehydrogenase complex. Alternative routes for plastidic acetyl-CoA synthesis are also reviewed. A separate section is devoted to recent advances in functional genomics studies related to fatty acid and TAG biosynthesis.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the financial support by the European Commission’s Seventh Framework Program for Research and Technology Development (FP7), project GIAVAP, Grant No. 266401. NS acknowledges support from the Albert Katz International School for Desert Studies and the Kreitman School of Advanced Graduate Studies at Ben-Gurion University.

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  1. Microalgal Biotechnology Laboratory, French Associates Institute for Agriculture and Biotechnology of Drylands, J. Blaustein Institutes of Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boqer Campus, 84990, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel

    Nastassia Shtaida, Inna Khozin-Goldberg & Sammy Boussiba

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  1. Nastassia Shtaida
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  2. Inna Khozin-Goldberg
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  3. Sammy Boussiba
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Correspondence to Inna Khozin-Goldberg.

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Shtaida, N., Khozin-Goldberg, I. & Boussiba, S. The role of pyruvate hub enzymes in supplying carbon precursors for fatty acid synthesis in photosynthetic microalgae. Photosynth Res 125, 407–422 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11120-015-0136-7

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