RNAi-mediated silencing of a pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase enhances triacylglycerol biosynthesis in the oleaginous marine alga Nannochloropsis salina.

ABSTRACT: Oleaginous microalgae have been emerging as the third-generation feedstocks for biofuel production. Genetic manipulation for improving triacylglycerol (TAG) accumulation represents a promising approach towards the economics of microalgal biofuels. Acetyl-CoA, the essential carbon precursor for de novo fatty acid biosynthesis, can be derived from pyruvate catalyzed by pyruvate dehydrogenase, which is negatively regulated by pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase (PDK). In the present study, we characterized a PDK gene (NsPDK) from Nannochloropsis salina. Subcellular localization assay assisted by green fluorescence protein (GFP) fusion indicated the localization of NsPDK in mitochondria of N. salina cells. NsPDK knockdown via RNA interference strategy attenuated NsPDK expression at the mRNA level an

SUBMITTER: Ma X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5597597 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature