Flow-cytometry-based physiological characterisation and transcriptome analyses reveal a mechanism for reduced cell viability in yeast engineered for increased lipid content

Abstract

Background Yeast has been the focus of development of cell biofactories for the production of lipids and interest in the field has been driven by the need for sustainably sourced lipids for use in a broad range of industrial applications. Previously, we reported a metabolic engineering strategy for enhanced lipid production in yeast which delivered high per-cell lipid but with low cell growth and compromised physiology. To investigate the relationship between lipid engineering and cellular physiological responses and to identify further metabolic engineering targets, we analysed transcriptomes and measured cell physiology parameters in engineered strains. Results In the engineering strategy, the central carbon pathway was reprogrammed to provide more precursors for lipid production and lipid accumulation and sequestration steps were enhanced through the expression of heterologous genes. Genes coding for enzymes within the pentose phosphate, beta-oxidation pathways, ATP and NADPH biosynthesis had lower transcript levels in engineered cells. Meanwhile, flow-cytometry analysis of fluorescent-dye stained cells showed the highest reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψm) in cells with the highest lipid content, supporting the known relationship between mitochondrial activity and ROS generation. High intracellular ROS and low membrane integrity were not ameliorated by application of antioxidants. Conclusions The limited intracellular energy supplies and the unbalanced redox environment could be regarded as targets for further lipid engineering, similarly for native lipid accumulation genes that were upregulated. Thus, lipid pathway engineering has an important effect on the central carbon pathway, directing these towards lipid production and sacrificing the precursors, energy and cofactor supply to satisfy homeostatic metabolic requirements. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13068-019-1435-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Metabolic Engineering Strategies for Improved Lipid Production and Cellular Physiological Responses in Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

“…Whether this is occurring to any degree in populations of yeast cells engineered for high lipid production is not known, nor has it been tested to date. Multiple analytical approaches, such as flow cytometry, biospectroscopy, and microfluidic single-cell cultivation, exist to assist in the understanding of microbial populations at the single cell level [ 157 , 158 ].…”