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Genomic Analysis of Genes Involved in the Biosynthesis of Very Long Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Thraustochytrium sp. 26185

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Lipids

Abstract

Thraustochytrium sp. 26185 is a marine protist that can produce a large amount of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3), an ω3 very long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (VLCPUFA) of nutritional importance. However, the mechanism of how this fatty acid is synthesized and assembled into the storage lipid triacylglycerol is unclear. Here we report sequencing of the whole genome and genomic analysis of genes involved in the biosynthesis and assembly of the fatty acids in this species. Genome sequencing produced a total of 2,418,734,139 bp clean sequences with about 62 fold genome coverage. Annotation of the genome sequences revealed 10,797 coding genes. Among them, 10,216 genes could be assigned into 25 KOG classes where 451 genes were specifically assigned to the group of lipid transport and metabolism. Detailed analysis of these genes revealed co-existence of both aerobic pathway and anaerobic pathways for the biosynthesis of DHA in this species. However, in the aerobic pathway, a key gene encoding stearate Δ9 desaturase introducing the first double bond to long chain saturated fatty acid 18:0 was missing from the genome. Genomic survey of genes involved in the acyl trafficking among glycerolipids showed that, unlike plants, this protist did not possess phosphatidylcholine:diacylglycerol cholinephosphotransferase, an important enzyme in bridging two types of glycerolipids, diacylglycerols (DAG) and phosphatidylcholines (PtdCho). These results shed new insight on the biosynthesis and assembly of VLCPUFA in the Thraustochytrium.

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Abbreviations

ACC:

Acyl-CoA carboxylase

ACP:

Acyl carrier protein

ACS:

Acyl-CoA synthetase

ALA:

α-Linolenic acid

ARA:

Arachidonic acid

AT:

Acyl transferase

CDS:

CDP-DAG synthase

CK:

Choline kinase

CPT:

Choline phosphotransferase

DAG:

Diacylglycerol

DGAT:

Diacylglycerol acyltransferase

DH:

Dehydrase

DHA:

Docosahexaenoic acid

DPA:

Docosapentaenoic acid

EK:

Ethanolamine kinase

EPT:

Ethanolamine phosphotransferase

ER:

Enoyl reductase

FAS:

Fatty acid synthase

G3P:

Glycerol-3-phosphate

GLA:

γ-Linolenic acid

GO:

Gene ontology

GPAT:

Glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase

KEGG:

Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes

KOG:

Eukaryotic orthologous groups

KR:

Ketoacyl reductase

KS:

Ketoacyl synthase

LA:

Linoleic acid

LysoPtdOH:

Lysophosphatidic acid

LPAT:

Lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferase

LysoPtdCho:

Lyso-phosphatidylcholine

LPCAT:

Lyso-phosphatidylcholine acyltransferase

MAT:

Malonyl-CoA ACP transacylase

MBOAT:

Membrane-bound O-acyltransferase

PAP:

Phosphatidic acid phosphatase

PCCT:

Phosphocholine cytidylyltransferase

PDCT:

Phosphatidylcholine:diacylglycerol cholinephosphotransferase

PEMT:

Phosphatidylethanolamine methyltransferase

PKS:

Polyketide synthase

PPTase:

Phosphopantetheinyl transferase

PSD:

Phosphatidylserine decarboxylase

PSS:

Phosphatidylserine synthase

PtdCho:

Phosphatidylcholine

PtdEtn:

Phosphatidylethanolamine

PtdOH:

Phosphatidic acid

PtdSer:

Phosphatidylserine

SDA:

Stearidonic acid

TAG:

Triacylglycerol

VLCPUFA:

Very long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid

WS:

Wax synthase

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. We also wish to acknowledge Jack Chen for technical assistance in the genome sequencing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Food and Bioproduct Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5A8, Canada

    Xianming Zhao, Meesapyodsuk Dauenpen, Cunmin Qu & Xiao Qiu

  2. National Research Council Canada, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 0W9, Canada

    Meesapyodsuk Dauenpen

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  1. Xianming Zhao
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Correspondence to Xiao Qiu.

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Zhao, X., Dauenpen, M., Qu, C. et al. Genomic Analysis of Genes Involved in the Biosynthesis of Very Long Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Thraustochytrium sp. 26185. Lipids 51, 1065–1075 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11745-016-4181-6

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