Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China.
Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Microbiome Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China.
Commun Biol. 2020 Apr 23;3(1):186. doi: 10.1038/s42003-020-0900-x.
Accumulation of high-value products in microalgae is not conducive with rapid cell growth, which is the potential conflict in microalgal production. Overcoming such conflict faces numerous challenges in comprehensively understanding cell behavior and metabolism. Here, we show a fully integrated interaction between cell behavior, carbon partitioning, carbon availability and path rate of central carbon metabolism, and have practically overcome the production conflict of Chromochloris zofingiensis. We demonstrate that elevated carbon availability and active path rate of precursors are determinants for product biosynthesis, and the former exhibits a superior potential. As protein content reaches a threshold value to confer survival advantages, carbon availability becomes the major limiting factor for product biosynthesis and cell reproduction. Based on integrated interaction, regulating the C/N balance by feeding carbon source under excess light increases content of high-value products without inhibiting cell growth. Our findings provide a new orientation to achieve great productivity improvements in microalgal production.
微藻中高价值产品的积累不利于细胞的快速生长，这是微藻生产中的潜在矛盾。克服这种矛盾需要全面了解细胞行为和代谢，但面临着众多挑战。在这里，我们展示了细胞行为、碳分配、碳可用性以及中心碳代谢途径速率之间的完全集成的相互作用，并在实质上克服了 Chromochloris zofingiensis 的生产冲突。我们证明了升高的碳可用性和前体的活跃途径速率是产物生物合成的决定因素，而前者具有更高的潜力。当蛋白质含量达到赋予生存优势的阈值时，碳可用性成为产物生物合成和细胞繁殖的主要限制因素。基于这种相互作用，在过量光照下通过添加碳源来调节 C/N 平衡可以在不抑制细胞生长的情况下增加高价值产品的含量。我们的研究结果为实现微藻生产的高生产力改进提供了新的方向。
