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A squalene synthase-like enzyme initiates production of tetraterpenoid hydrocarbons in <i>Botryococcus braunii</i> Race L [electronic resource].

Published
Washington, D.C. : United States. Dept. of Energy, 2016.
Oak Ridge, Tenn. : Distributed by the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, U.S. Dept. of Energy
Physical Description
Article numbers 11,198 : digital, PDF file
Additional Creators
United States. Department of Energy, United States. Department of Energy. Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, and United States. Department of Energy. Office of Scientific and Technical Information
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Summary
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.
Report Numbers
E 1.99:1255082
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Note
Published through SciTech Connect.
04/06/2016.
"ncomms11198"
Nature Communications 7 ISSN 2041-1723 AM
Hem R. Thapa; Mandar T. Naik; Shigeru Okada; Kentaro Takada; Istvan Molnar; Yuquan Xu; Timothy P. Devarenne.
Texas A&M AgriLife Research, College Station, TX (United States)
Funding Information
AR0000203
EE0003046l
NSF-EFRI-PSBR 1240478
View MARC record | catkey: 23499615