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Title: Synthesizing and Salvaging NAD+: Lessons Learned from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Journal Article · · PLoS Genetics
 [1];  [2];  [1]
  1. Washington Univ., St. Louis, MO (United States). School of Medicine. Dept. of Genetics
  2. Washington Univ., St. Louis, MO (United States). Dept. of Computer Science and Engineering

The essential coenzyme nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+ ) plays important roles in metabolic reactions and cell regulation in all organisms. Bacteria, fungi, plants, and animals use different pathways to synthesize NAD+ . Our molecular and genetic data demonstrate that in the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas NAD+ is synthesized from aspartate (de novo synthesis), as in plants, or nicotinamide, as in mammals (salvage synthesis). The de novo pathway requires five different enzymes: L-aspartate oxidase (ASO), quinolinate synthetase (QS), quinolate phosphoribosyltransferase (QPT), nicotinate/ nicotinamide mononucleotide adenylyltransferase (NMNAT), and NAD+ synthetase (NS). Sequence similarity searches, gene isolation and sequencing of mutant loci indicate that mutations in each enzyme result in a nicotinamide-requiring mutant phenotype in the previously isolated nic mutants. We rescued the mutant phenotype by the introduction of BAC DNA (nic2- 1 and nic13-1) or plasmids with cloned genes (nic1-1 and nic15-1) into the mutants. NMNAT, which is also in the de novo pathway, and nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT) constitute the nicotinamide-dependent salvage pathway. A mutation in NAMPT (npt1-1) has no obvious growth defect and is not nicotinamide-dependent. However, double mutant strains with the npt1-1 mutation and any of the nic mutations are inviable. When the de novo pathway is inactive, the salvage pathway is essential to Chlamydomonas for the synthesis of NAD+ . A homolog of the human SIRT6-like gene, SRT2, is upregulated in the NS mutant, which shows a longer vegetative life span than wild-type cells. Our results suggest that Chlamydomonas is an excellent model system to study NAD+ metabolism and cell longevity.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER). Biological Systems Science Division
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
1627286
Journal Information:
PLoS Genetics, Vol. 6, Issue 9; ISSN 1553-7404
Publisher:
Public Library of ScienceCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (10)

Comparative Functional Genomic Analysis of Two Vibrio Phages Reveals Complex Metabolic Interactions with the Host Cell journal November 2016
A refined genome-scale reconstruction of Chlamydomonas metabolism provides a platform for systems-level analyses journal November 2015
Modular engineering to increase intracellular NAD(H/+) promotes rate of extracellular electron transfer of Shewanella oneidensis journal September 2018
Identifying RNA splicing factors using IFT genes in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii journal March 2018
Accumulation of Squalene in a Microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii by Genetic Modification of Squalene Synthase and Squalene Epoxidase Genes journal March 2015
A simple and inexpensive physical lysis method for DNA and RNA extraction from freshwater microalgae journal August 2018
The Evolutionary Portrait of Metazoan NAD Salvage journal May 2013
Whole Genome Sequencing Identifies a Deletion in Protein Phosphatase 2A That Affects Its Stability and Localization in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii journal September 2013
Transgene Expression in Microalgae—From Tools to Applications journal April 2016
Multiple origins of endosymbionts in Chlorellaceae with no reductive effects on the plastid or mitochondrial genomes journal August 2017

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