Characterization the carotenoid productions and profiles of three Rhodosporidium toruloides mutants from Agrobacterium tumefaciens‐mediated transformation

• Published in: Yeast (Chichester, England) Vol. 34; no. 8; pp. 335 - 342
• Main Authors: Lin, Xinping, Gao, Ning, Liu, Sasa, Zhang, Sufang, Song, Shuang, Ji, Chaofan, Dong, Xiuping, Su, Yichen, Zhao, Zongbao Kent, Zhu, Beiwei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.08.2017
• Subjects: Agrobacterium tumefaciens; Agrobacterium tumefaciens - genetics; Agrobacterium tumefaciens‐mediated transformation; Carotenoids; Carotenoids - biosynthesis; Carotenoids - chemistry; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Chromosome Mapping; Chromosome Walking; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; Gene mapping; Genetic transformation; Genomes; Genotype; High performance liquid chromatography; Insertion; Mass Spectrometry; Mass spectroscopy; Metabolic Engineering; Metabolic Networks and Pathways - genetics; Mutagenesis, Insertional; Phenotype; Rhodosporidium toruloides; Rhodotorula - genetics; Rhodotorula - metabolism; T-DNA; Transformation, Genetic; Triglycerides; T‐DNA insertion mutants; Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation; carotenoids; T-DNA insertion mutants; Rhodosporidium toruloides
• ISSN: 0749-503X; 1097-0061
• DOI: 10.1002/yea.3236

The red yeast Rhodosporidium toruloides is a known lipid producer capable of accumulating large amounts of triacylglycerols and carotenoids. However, it remains challenging to study its carotenoid production profiles owing to limited biochemical information and inefficient genetic tools. Here we used an Agrobacterium tumefaciens‐mediated transformation (ATMT) to change its carotenoid production and profiles. We constructed R. toruloides NP11 mutant libraries with ATMT, selected three mutants with different colours, characterized their carotenoid products by high‐pressure liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (HPLC‐MS) analysis and assured differences among those strains in terms of carotenoid production and its composition profiles. We then located T‐DNA insertion sites using the genome walking technology and provided discussions in terms of the new phenotypes. This study is the first of its kind to change the carotenoid production profiles in R. toruloides. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.