外源2,6-二叔丁基对甲酚对非生物胁迫条件下雨生红球藻虾青素积累的影响

【背景】雨生红球藻是天然虾青素的最佳来源,广泛应用于虾青素的工业化生产。【目的】探究外源添加不同浓度的2,6-二叔丁基对甲酚(Butylated hydroxytoluene,BHT)对雨生红球藻虾青素积累的影响,以期建立BHT提高雨生红球藻虾青素产量的技术体系。【方法】选用不含硝态氮的BBM培养基,辅以强光照,培养雨生红球藻(Haematococcus pluvialis)LUGU,测试不同浓度BHT对雨生红球藻生物量、虾青素含量、活性氧、抗氧化系统和虾青素合成相关酶基因的影响。【结果】在0-3 mg/L BHT范围内,2 mg/L BHT对雨生红球藻虾青素积累的促进效果最佳,达到31.66 mg/g。2 mg/L BHT有效降低了雨生红球藻内的活性氧水平,增加了细胞内NO水平,提高了藻细胞内过氧化氢酶(Catalase,CAT)、过氧化物酶(Peroxidase,POD)和超氧化物歧化酶(Superoxidedismutase,SOD)活性以及谷胱甘肽(Glutathione,GSH)的含量,诱导了虾青素合成关键酶基因chy和lcy的高效表达。【结论】非生物胁迫条件下,外源添加适量的BHT能促进雨生红球藻中虾青素的积累,且与藻细胞内的信号分子活性氧(Reactive oxygen species,ROS)、NO水平及虾青素合成相关基因的表达调控相关。     

雨生红球藻培养过程中色素动态变化与光合生理特性研究

以雨生红球藻Haematococcus pluvialis CG-06为实验材料,分析测定在正常培养周期内藻细胞主要色素的变化动态、光合生理特性,以及培养基中硝态氮的含量。结果表明,雨生红球藻在绿色细胞阶段的主要色素包括:叶绿素、叶黄素、β-胡萝卜素,培养至红色细胞阶段增加了角黄素、海胆酮、虾青素单酯及双酯等次生类胡萝卜素。硝态氮浓度在培养初期下降迅速,第3 d降至4.875 mg/L,下降了85.3%,至第7 d下降为0.169 mg/L。雨生红球藻培养至第7 d时,细胞中开始检测出虾青素,含量为0.159 mg/g,此时虾青素合成速度较快,至第11 d虾青素含量上升为1.68 mg/g,在虾青素合成初期β-胡萝卜素的含量下降。藻细胞的光合速率、呼吸速率和NPQ在培养前期比较稳定,第7 d细胞光合速率开始下降,而呼吸速率和NPQ则上升,在整个培养周期中,藻细胞的Fv/Fm变化不明显。     

缺氮胁迫下雨生红球藻虾青素积累过程中的基因组MSAP分析

虾青素具有多种生物学活性,雨生红球藻为天然虾青素的最佳来源,缺氮胁迫会导致雨生红球藻积累虾青素。为了解缺氮条件下雨生红球藻虾青素积累的分子机制,该研究通过对雨生红球藻进行缺氮胁迫,结合MSAP法,研究了雨生红球藻在缺氮胁迫下虾青素积累过程中基因组甲基化水平的变化,结果表明:缺氮胁迫0~72 h期间,雨生红球藻生长速度减慢,而虾青素积累主要发生在缺氮处理12~24 h期间,随后积累速度减慢。同时,对缺氮胁迫0、24、72 h的雨生红球藻基因组DNA进行甲基化敏感扩增多态性分析,共得到了291个甲基化多态性位点,其中发生甲基化变化的位点在0~24 h和24~72 h分别占总位点的29.90%和53.95%。在缺氮胁迫24 h处DNA半甲基化率最大(为12.71%),全甲基化率最低(为26.80%);缺氮胁迫72 h处DNA全甲基化率最高(为28.52%),半甲基化率最低(为1.72%)。这表明DNA甲基化调节方式的改变是虾青素积累过程中的一种重要调控模式。     

雨生红球藻基因组文库的构建及鉴定

本研究以雨生红球藻34-1n为材料,提取其基因组DNA,利用限制性内切酶Sau3AⅠ对基因组DNA进行酶解,回收6~8kb的基因组DNA片段,并浓缩至200ng/μL。该片段与经BamH Ⅰ酶切和去磷酸化处理后的pUC18载体连接,然后电击转化到受体菌Escherichia.coli DH5α中,获得雨生红球藻34-1n的基因组文库。该文库的平均插入片段长度约为6.5kb,获得6×105个克隆数。通过PCR筛选,由雨生红球藻基因组文库中获得含bkt1序列的单克隆菌,与β-胡萝卜素氧化酶序列(GenBank:DQ086233.1)进行比对,结果表明bkt1基因组序列含有6个外显子。本研究为进一步鉴定雨生红球藻相关基因提供了一个文库平台。     

温度对雨生红球藻(Haematococcus pluvialis)生物量和虾青素产量的影响

在用环形培养池模拟系统培养雨生红球藻的过程中,研究了温度对雨生红球藻生物量及虾青素产量的影响。结果表明,在15～25℃的范围内,不同温度下雨生红球藻生物量和虾青素含量及产量都经历了一个上升—最高—下降的过程。25℃与22℃时红球藻的虾青素产量、虾青素含量(干重)均显著高于其他温度的(P<0.01),但两者间差异不显著(P>0.05)。15℃时,红球藻生物量、虾青素含量和虾青素产量均最低,分别为1.4g、0.54%和2.49mg/L;25℃时,红球藻生物量和虾青素产量最高,分别为2.68g和13.53mg/L;22℃时,虾青素含量最高,为1.52%。     

UV-B辐射对雨生红球藻光合特性和虾青素含量的影响及其响应

实验研究了不同强度的UV-B(280-320 nm)辐射对雨生红球藻(Haematococcus pluvialis)的光合活性、生物量、色素含量、活性氧(ROS)含量和抗氧化酶活性等的影响, 以探讨利用UV-B辐射诱导虾青素生物合成增强的可能性。结果发现, 经UV-B辐射处理后,雨生红球藻的光合活性降低、生物量增长被抑制。UV-B辐射对叶绿素影响不大, 但会改变细胞的类胡萝卜素和虾青素含量:0.1和0.3 W/m2强度的UV-B辐射使细胞中的这两种色素含量升高, 0.5 W/m2组的色素含量短暂升高后恢复到对照水平。中低强度的UV-B可以促进雨生红球藻单细胞虾青素含量的增加, 但由于其对细胞生长的抑制作用, 并不能使虾青素大量积累。随辐射时间延长, 细胞内ROS含量未明显增加,但抗氧化酶(过氧化氢酶和超氧化物歧化酶)活性下降, 雨生红球藻可能主要依靠虾青素来淬灭ROS。以上结果表明, UV-B辐射对雨生红球藻的主要生理生化过程有抑制作用, UV-B辐射既可以诱导虾青素的合成又会消耗一部分虾青素, 对虾青素含量的影响与其强度有关, 而利用虾青素来清除细胞内的ROS可能是雨生红球藻抵御这种不利环境条件的最重要的途径。       

超临界CO2萃取雨生红球藻中虾青素工艺的研究

本工艺以雨生红球藻粉为原料,采用超临界CO2萃取技术,萃取雨生红球藻浸膏,可有效地将雨生红球藻颗粒中的虾青素萃取出来,使萃余物(残渣)中总虾青素含量的平均值为0.224%;提取物得率(以油浸膏的总量计)可达28.5%;虾青素的提取率可达66.69%;雨生红球藻油浸膏中虾青素含量为5.710%.     

CO_2浓度对雨生红球藻生理生化指标的影响

为了探讨雨生红球藻对不同CO_2浓度的响应,利用生理生化测定方法比较了两种CO_2浓度对雨生红球藻生长、色素含量、叶绿素荧光参数和两种碳代谢相关酶的影响。结果显示在雨生红球藻的绿色营养阶段,4倍空气CO_2浓度下培养的藻细胞密度是空气CO_2浓度下的3.08倍(第10天),与空气CO_2相比,较高CO_2培养藻的叶绿素和类胡萝卜素含量、胞外碳酸酐酶(CA)活性降低,非光化学淬灭(NPQ)显著升高,最大光能转化效率(Fv/Fm)、实际光化学量子效率(ФPSII)多显著升高,而光化学淬灭(q P)、核酮糖-1,5-二磷酸羧化酶/加氧酶(Rubisco)活性无显著差异。在雨生红球藻的红色孢子阶段,4倍空气CO_2培养下的藻细胞密度显著降低,但虾青素含量提高了20.23%(第8天)。以上研究表明可以通过适当提高CO_2浓度来促进雨生红球藻的生长和虾青素的积累。     

雨生红球藻虾青素酰基转移酶的鉴定与功能研究

为研究雨生红球藻(Haematococcus pluvialis)的甘油二酯酰基转移酶(Diacylglycerol acyltransferase, DGAT)是否具有催化虾青素酰基化的功能, 首先通过雨生红球藻的cDNA库克隆得到了一个II型DGAT编码区全长序列(DGTT2)。在甘油三酯(Triacylglycerol, TAG)合成缺陷型酵母Saccharomyces cerevisiae H1246中过表达DGTT2基因发现HpDGTT2不能回补H1246的表型, 即不具有典型的DGAT功能。利用分离得到的雨生红球藻的内质网成功地建立了一个体外的虾青素酰基转移酶酶活测定体系, 添加含有重组HpDGTT2的酵母细胞的微粒体后虾青素酯的含量显著高于对照, 初步表明HpDGTT2具有催化雨生红球藻中虾青素酰基化功能。以上结果为进一步探索雨生红球藻中DGTT2的功能及深入理解虾青素合成在代谢水平的调控奠定了基础。     

黄腐酸对雨生红球藻虾青素的积累和CHY基因表达量影响

实验以雨生红球藻Haematococcus pluvialis LUGU为对象,研究了不同浓度的黄腐酸对微藻细胞生长、虾青素积累以及β-胡萝卜素羟化酶(CHY)基因表达量的影响。结果表明,FA浓度为5 mg/L,藻细胞生物量产率达到了79.39 mg/(L·d),虾青素产量达到了20.82 mg/L,分别比对照组提高了4.25%和86.89%;FA浓度为10 mg/L,藻细胞的生物量产率和虾青素产量分别比对照组提高了5.44%和9.78%。RT-PCR分析显示,虾青素合成的关键基因CHY的表达受FA的诱导,当添加5和10 mg/L的黄腐酸时,CHY基因最大的表达量分别为对照的18.1倍和7.3倍,当添加20 mg/L的黄腐酸时CHY基因的最大的表达量仅为对照的3.2倍,FA诱导下的雨生红球藻虾青素的积累含量和CHY基因表达量呈正相关。实验表明,适当浓度的黄腐酸不仅能够显著提高虾青素合成关键酶基因CHY的表达水平,并且明显促进了藻细胞内虾青素的积累,因此黄腐酸可作为虾青素生产的一种有效诱导子。     

Characterization of carotenoid hydroxylase gene promoter in Haematococcus pluvialis

Astaxanthin, a high-value ketocarotenoid is mainly used in fish aquaculture. It also has potential in human health due to its higher antioxidant capacity than beta-carotene and vitamin E. The unicellular green alga Haematococcus pluvialis is known to accumulate astaxanthin in response to environmental stresses, such as high light intensity and salt stress. Carotenoid hydroxylase plays a key role in astaxanthin biosynthesis in H. pluvialis. In this paper, we report the characterization of a promoter-like region (-378 to -22 bp) of carotenoid hydroxylase gene by cloning, sequence analysis and functional verification of its 919 bp 5'-flanking region in H. pluvialis. The 5'-flanking region was characterized using micro-particle bombardment method and transient expression of LacZ reporter gene. Results of sequence analysis showed that the 5'-flanking region might have putative cis-acting elements, such as ABA (abscisic acid)-responsive element (ABRE), C-repeat/dehydration responsive element (C-repeat/DRE), ethylene-responsive element (ERE), heat-shock element (HSE), wound-responsive element (WUN-motif), gibberellin-responsive element (P-box), MYB-binding site (MBS) etc., except for typical TATA and CCAAT boxes. Results of 5' deletions construct and beta-galactosidase assays revealed that a highest promoter-like region might exist from -378 to -22 bp and some negative regulatory elements might lie in the region from -919 to -378 bp. Results of site-directed mutagenesis of a putative C-repeat/DRE and an ABRE-like motif in the promoter-like region (-378 to -22 bp) indicated that the putative C-repeat/DRE and ABRE-like motif might be important for expression of carotenoid hydroxylase gene.     

Stress-related differential expression of multiple beta-carotene ketolase genes in the unicellular green alga Haematococcus pluvialis

The unicellular green alga Haematococcus pluvialis is used as a biological production system for astaxanthin. It accumulates large amounts of this commercially interesting ketocarotenoid under a variety of environmental stresses. Here we report the identification and expression of three different beta-carotene ketolase genes (bkt) that are involved in the biosynthesis of astaxanthin in a single strain of the alga. Bkt1 and bkt2 proved to be the crtO and bkt previously isolated from two different strains of H. pluvialis. Bkt3 is a novel third gene, which shared 95% identical nucleotide sequence with bkt2. Nitrogen deficiency alone could not induce the alga cells to produce astaxanthin in 3 days even though it enhances the expression of the bkt genes to three times of that in normal growing cells within 16 h. High light irradiation (125 micromol m(-2)s(-1)) or 45 mM sodium acetate greatly increased the expression of bkt genes to 18 or 52 times of that in normal growing cells, resulting in an accumulation of substantial astaxanthin (about 6 mg g(-1) dry biomass) in 3 days. It is suggested that the existence of the multiple bkt genes and their strong up-regulation by different stress conditions is one of the reasons that H. pluvialis accumulates large amounts of astaxanthin in an instant response to stress environments.     

雨生红球藻八氢番茄红素合成酶基因的克隆及表征

雨生红球藻是一种单细胞绿藻,在多种逆境胁迫条件下能够大量合成并迅速积累虾青素,其积累量最高可达细胞干重的4%,从而成为目前最理想的天然虾青素合成工具.八氢番茄红素合成酶(PSY)是虾青素合成途径中第一个限速酶.分离了八氢番茄红素合成酶基因(psy)的全长cDNA及基因组DNA.其全长cDNA包括1200个碱基,编码400个氨基酸,基因组DNA包括5个外显子,4个内含子.系统发育分析结果显示,绿藻的八氢番茄红素合成酶基因形成一个进化枝,它们与高等植物的psy亲缘关系比较近.通过GenomeWalking的方法,分离了psy基因约1kb的5′侧翼序列.将含有TATA-box和CAAT-box的297bp的序列与LacZ报告基因构成嵌合的表达载体,用基因枪法转化雨生红球藻.lacZ的瞬间表达检测结果表明,这段上游序列能够驱动lacZ表达,具有启动子活性.     

Expression in Escherichia coli and properties of the carotene ketolase from Haematococcus pluvialis

Abstract High level expression of the functional β-carotene ketolase gene bkt from Haematococcus pluvialis occurred in Escherichia coli transformants producing β-carotene or zeaxanthin as a result of the presence of additional carotenoid genes from Erwinia uredovora . Requirement of molecular oxygen for the insertion of the keto group was demonstrated. The final product of this two-step ketolase reaction from β-carotene is canthaxanthin (4,4'-diketo-β-carotene) with the 4-monoketo derivative echinenone as an intermediate. A reaction sequence for the formation of astaxanthin from β-carotene was established based on kinetic data on astaxanthin formation in E. coli transformants carrying the hydroxylase gene crtZ from Erwinia along with bkt . We conclude that the carotenoids zeaxanthin and adonixanthin which accumulate in addition to astaxanthin in this transformant are products of side reactions rather than direct precursors of astaxanthin. The possible mechanisms for the formation of the keto derivatives are discussed.     

Influence of environmental and nutritional factors in the production of astaxanthin from Haematococcus pluvialis

Astaxanthin extracted from green algae is desirable in the food and pharmaceutical industries due to its antioxidant properties. The green unicellular clear water microalga Haematococcus pluvialis has a high production rate of astaxanthin; indeed, it contains more than 80% astaxanthin content in its cells. This remarkable astaxanthin production is commonly obtained under stress conditions such as nutrient deficiency (N or P), high NaCl concentrations, variations of temperature, and other factors. In this vein, a great research effort has been oriented to determine optimal conditions for astaxanthin production by H. pluvialis.The objective of the present study was the analysis of environmental factors, such as light intensity, aeration and nutrients on the growth and astaxanthin production of H. pluvialis. Maximum growth of H. pluvialis obtained was 3.5x10(5) cells/ml in BBM medium at 28 degrees C under continuous illumination (177 micromol photon m(-2)s(-1)) of white fluorescent light, with continuous aeration (1.5 v.v.m.). Meanwhile, maximal astaxanthin production was 98 mg/g biomass in BAR medium with continuous illumination (345 micromol photon m(-2)s(-1)), with 1 g/l of sodium acetate and without aeration.     

A novel double-layered photobioreactor for simultaneous Haematococcus pluvialis cell growth and astaxanthin accumulation

This study proposes a novel double-region photobioreactor to simplify the commercial two-stage process of astaxanthin production by the cultivation of Haematococcus pluvialis. The feasibility of the double-region photobioreactor has been investigated and found to achieve high biomass yield in the inner core region and simultaneous astaxanthin accumulation in the outer jacket region. Among many environmental factors, light condition and nitrate level were manipulated for selective cell growth and astaxanthin production. In the outer jacket region, efficient astaxanthin production was accomplished by excessive irradiation (770+/-20 microE m(-2)s(-1)) and nitrate starvation, resulting in a dramatic increase of astaxanthin productivity (357 mg l(-1)). Meanwhile, attenuated light energy (40+/-3 microE m(-2)s(-1)) and sufficient nitrates were supplied to the vegetative cells in the inner core region, which continued to grow to a high cell concentration of 4.0 x 10(5) cells ml(-1). The sequential batch run was performed by utilizing the high-density vegetative cells as inoculum for the next batch run. The cultivation results exhibited similar trends as the previous run, reaching high cell density (4.3 x 10(5) cells ml(-1)) in the inner core region and high astaxanthin content (5.79% on a dry weight basis) in the outer jacket region. The present study indicates that the double-region photobioreactor and its method of operation possess a good potential for commercial production of astaxanthin by H. pluvialis.     

Comparative analysis of astaxanthin and its esters in the mutant E1 of Haematococcus pluvialis and other green algae by HPLC with a C30 column

A gradient reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method using a C30 col-umn was developed for the simultaneous determination of astaxanthin, astaxanthin monoesters and astaxanthin diesters in the green algae Chlorococcum sp., Chlorella zofingiensis, Haematococcus plu-vialis and the mutant E1, which was obtained from the mutagenesis of H. pluvialis by exposure to UV-irradiation and ethyl methanesulphonate (EMS) with subsequent screening using nicotine. The re-sults showed that the contents of total astaxanthins including free astaxanthin and astaxanthin esters ranged from 1.4 to 30.9 mg/g dry biomass in these green algae. The lower total astaxanthin levels (< 2 mg/g dry biomass) were detected in the green algae Chlorococcum sp. and C. zofingiensis. The higher total astaxanthin levels (>16 mg/g dry biomass) were found in the green alga H. pluvialis and its mutant E1. It is notable that the mutant E1 is found to have considerably higher amounts of total astaxanthin (30.9 mg/g) as compared to the wild strain of H. pluvialis (16.1 mg/g). This indicates that UV-irradiation and EMS compound mutagenesis with subsequent screening using nicotine is an effective method for breeding of a high-producing astaxanthin strain of H. pluvialis. In addition, the green alga C. zofingien-sis had a remarkably higher percentage of astaxanthin diesters (76.3% of total astaxanthins) and a re-markably lower percentage of astaxanthin monoesters (18.0% of total astaxanthins) in comparison with H. pluvialis (35.5% for diesters and 60.9% for monoesters), the mutant E1 (49.1% and 48.1%) and Chlorococcum sp. (18.0% and 58.6%).     

Metabolic engineering of astaxanthin production in tobacco flowers

Using metabolic engineering, we have modified the carotenoid biosynthesis pathway in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) to produce astaxanthin, a red pigment of considerable economic value. To alter the carotenoid pathway in chromoplasts of higher plants, the cDNA of the gene CrtO from the alga Haematococcus pluvialis, encoding beta-carotene ketolase, was transferred to tobacco under the regulation of the tomato Pds (phytoene desaturase) promoter. The transit peptide of PDS from tomato was used to target the CRTO polypeptide to the plastids. Chromoplasts in the nectary tissue of transgenic plants accumulated (3S,3'S) astaxanthin and other ketocarotenoids, changing the color of the nectary from yellow to red. This accomplishment demonstrates that plants can be used as a source of novel carotenoid pigments such as astaxanthin. The procedures described in this work can serve as a platform technology for future genetic manipulations of pigmentation of fruits and flowers of horticultural and floricultural importance.