title: Molecular characterization of a glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase reveals key features essential for triacylglycerol production in Phaeodactylum tricornutum.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The marine diatom, Phaeodactylum tricornutum, has become a model for studying lipid metabolism and its triacylglycerol (TAG) synthesis pathway makes it an ideal target for metabolic engineering to improve lipid productivity. However, the genetic background and metabolic networks of fatty acid biosynthesis in diatoms are not well understood. Glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase (GPAT) is the critical enzyme that catalyzes the first step of TAG formation. So far, characterization of GPAT in marine microalgae has not been reported, especially at the level of comprehensive sequence-structure and functional analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A GPAT was cloned from P. tricornutum and overexpressed in P. tricornutum. Volumes of oil bodies were produced and the neutral lipid content was increased by twofold determined by Nile red fluorescence staining. Fatty acid composition was analyzed by GC-MS, which showed significantly higher proportion of unsaturated fatty acids compared to wild type.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggested that the identified GPAT could upregulate TAG biosynthesis in P. tricornutum. Moreover, this study offers insight into the lipid metabolism of diatoms and supports the role of microalgal strains for biofuels production.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Eutrophication and Red Tide Prevention of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, College of Life Science, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632 China.|Shenzhen Polytechnic, Shenzhen, 518000 China.
authors.forename: Ying-Fang
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Niu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Eutrophication and Red Tide Prevention of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, College of Life Science, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632 China.
authors.forename: Xiang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Eutrophication and Red Tide Prevention of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, College of Life Science, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632 China.
authors.forename: Dong-Xiong
authors.initials: DX
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Eutrophication and Red Tide Prevention of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, College of Life Science, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632 China.
authors.forename: Srinivasan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Balamurugan
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Eutrophication and Red Tide Prevention of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, College of Life Science, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632 China.
authors.forename: Da-Wei
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Eutrophication and Red Tide Prevention of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, College of Life Science, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632 China.
authors.forename: Wei-Dong
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Eutrophication and Red Tide Prevention of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, College of Life Science, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632 China.
authors.forename: Jie-Sheng
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Eutrophication and Red Tide Prevention of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, College of Life Science, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632 China.
authors.forename: Hong-Ye
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Li
keywords: Biofuels; Diatoms; GPAT; Lipid