Diatoms have important ecological roles and are natural sources of bioactive compounds. Nitzschia laevis is a member of marine diatoms that accumulates high-value products including fucoxanthin and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). In this study, physiological data showed that comparing to autotrophic growth, mixotrophic cultivation with glucose supplementation led to a decrease of chlorophyll and fucoxanthin content in N. laevis, and an increase of biomass density and EPA yield. To further examine the metabolic barriers for fucoxanthin and EPA biosynthesis, comparative transcriptomic and metabolome analyses were conducted, with a focus on the genes related to carotenoids biosynthesis and fatty acid metabolism. The results indicated that phytoene desaturase (PDS) and zeta-carotene isomerase (ZISO) could be the rate-limiting enzymes in carotenoid biosynthesis. The transcription regulation of 3-ketoacyl-CoA synthase (KCS) and elongation of very long chain fatty acids protein (EVOVL) are important contributors associated with polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) accumulation. Furthermore, we also investigated the glucose-associated regulatory genes using weighted gene co-expression network analysis, and identified potential hub genes linked with cell cycle, carbohydrate metabolism, purine biosynthesis, and lipid metabolism. This study offers a high-quality transcriptome resource for N. laevis and provides a molecular framework for further metabolic engineering studies on fucoxanthin and EPA production.
Nitzschia laevis is a candidate microorganism for bioactive compounds (fucoxanthin and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)) production. In this study, the impacts of glucose-induced trophic transition on biomass, photosynthesis, pigments, and lipid profiles were examined. The specific growth rate was increased under glucose addition, achieved at 0.47 day−1 (0.26 ± 0.01 day−1 for the group without glucose in medium). However, the photosynthetic parameters and pigments including chlorophylls, fucoxanthin, and diatoxanthin were reduced. The net yield of EPA doubled under glucose addition, reaching 20.36 ± 1.22 mg/L in 4 days. In addition, the alteration in detailed lipid molecular species was demonstrated with a focus on EPA-enriched lipids. The effects of 2-deoxyglucose (2DG) indicated that glucose phosphorylation was involved in glucose-induced regulation. These findings provide novel data for guiding the application of this diatom strain in the functional food industries.
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