title: Lipid biosynthesis monitored at the single-cell level in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
abstract: There is increasing interest in bioengineering of lipids for use in functional foods, pharmaceuticals, and biofuels. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a widely utilized cell factory for biotechnological production, thus a tempting alternative. Herein, we show how its neutral lipid accumulation varies throughout metabolic phases under nutritional conditions relevant for large-scale fermentation. Population-averaged metabolic data were correlated with lipid storage at the single-cell level monitored at submicron resolution by label-free coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microscopy. While lipid droplet sizes are fairly constant, the number of droplets is a dynamic parameter determined by glucose and ethanol levels. The lowest number of lipid droplets is observed in the transition phase between glucose and ethanol fermentation. It is followed by a buildup during the ethanol phase. The surplus of accumulated lipids is then mobilized at concurrent glucose and ethanol starvation in the subsequent stationary phase. Thus, the highest amount of lipids is found in the ethanol phase, which is about 0.3 fL/cell. Our results indicate that the budding yeast, S. cerevisiae, can be used for the biosynthesis of lipids and demonstrate the strength of CARS microscopy for monitoring the dynamics of lipid metabolism at the single-cell level of importance for optimized lipid production.
authors.affiliation: Systems and Synthetic Biology, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Kemivagen 10, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Pramote
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chumnanpuen
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Brackmann
authors.forename: Subir K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Nandy
authors.forename: Susana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chatzipapadopoulos
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nielsen
authors.forename: Annika
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Enejder
mesh_terms: D005285:Fermentation; D008055:Lipids / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D008853:Microscopy / Q000379:methods*; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D059010:Single-Cell Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D008055:Lipids