A squalene synthase-like enzyme initiates production of tetraterpenoid hydrocarbons in Botryococcus braunii Race L

Thapa, Hem R.; Naik, Mandar T.; Okada, Shigeru; Takada, Kentaro; Molnar, Istvan; Xu, Yuquan; Devarenne, Timothy P.

doi:10.1038/ncomms11198

Title: A squalene synthase-like enzyme initiates production of tetraterpenoid hydrocarbons in Botryococcus braunii Race L

Journal Article · Wed Apr 06 00:00:00 EDT 2016 · Nature Communications

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms11198· OSTI ID:1255082

Thapa, Hem R. ^[1]; Naik, Mandar T. ^[2]; Okada, Shigeru ^[3]; Takada, Kentaro ^[3]; Molnar, Istvan ^[4]; Xu, Yuquan ^[5]; Devarenne, Timothy P. ^[1]

Texas A&M Univ., College Station, TX (United States). Dept. of Biochemistry and Biophysics
Texas A&M Univ., College Station, TX (United States). Dept. of Biochemistry and Biophysics; Texas A&M Univ., College Station, TX (United States). Biomolecular NMR Laboratory
Univ. of Tokyo (Japan); Japan Science and Technology Agency-Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology (CREST), Tokyo (Japan)
Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (United States)
Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (United States); Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing (China)

Here, the green microalga Botryococcus braunii is considered a promising biofuel feedstock producer due to its prodigious accumulation of hydrocarbon oils that can be converted into fuels. B. braunii Race L produces the C₄₀ tetraterpenoid hydrocarbon lycopadiene via an uncharacterized biosynthetic pathway. Structural similarities suggest this pathway follows a biosynthetic mechanism analogous to that of C₃₀ squalene. Confirming this hypothesis, the current study identifies C₂₀ geranylgeranyl diphosphate (GGPP) as a precursor for lycopaoctaene biosynthesis, the first committed intermediate in the production of lycopadiene. Two squalene synthase (SS)-like complementary DNAs are identified in race L with one encoding a true SS and the other encoding an enzyme with lycopaoctaene synthase (LOS) activity. Interestingly, LOS uses alternative C₁₅ and C₂₀ prenyl diphosphate substrates to produce combinatorial hybrid hydrocarbons, but almost exclusively uses GGPP in vivo. In conclusion, this discovery highlights how SS enzyme diversification results in the production of specialized tetraterpenoid oils in race L of B. braunii.

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Research Organization:: Texas A&M AgriLife Research, College Station, TX (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E); USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)

Contributing Organization:: Texas A&M AgriLife Research

Grant/Contract Number:: AR0000203; EE0003046l; NSF-EFRI-PSBR 1240478

OSTI ID:: 1255082

Journal Information:: Nature Communications, Vol. 7; ISSN 2041-1723

Publisher:: Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 28 works

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