An ortholog of farA of Aspergillus nidulans is implicated in the transcriptional activation of genes involved in fatty acid utilization in the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica

• Published in: Biochemical and biophysical research communications Vol. 402; no. 4; pp. 731 - 735
• Main Authors: Poopanitpan, Napapol, Kobayashi, Satoshi, Fukuda, Ryouichi, Horiuchi, Hiroyuki, Ohta, Akinori
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 26.11.2010
• Subjects: 60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES; ASPERGILLUS; Aspergillus nidulans; Aspergillus nidulans - genetics; CELL PROLIFERATION; DECANE; Fatty acid; Fatty Acids - metabolism; Gene Deletion; Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal; GENES; GLUCOSE; GLYCEROL; HEXADECANE; METABOLISM; MUTANTS; OLEIC ACID; OXIDATION; Peroxisomes - metabolism; SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE; Trans-Activators - genetics; Trans-Activators - metabolism; Transcription; Transcriptional Activation; Yarrowia - genetics; Yarrowia - metabolism; Yarrowia lipolytica; Yeast; Yeast; Transcription; Fatty acid; Yarrowia lipolytica
• ISSN: 0006-291X; 1090-2104
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2010.10.096

► POR1 is a Yarrowia lipolytica ortholog of farA involved in fatty acid response in A. nidulans. ► Deletion of POR1 caused growth defects on fatty acids. ► Δpor1 strain exhibited defects in the induction of genes involved in fatty acid utilization. The yeast Yarrowia lipolytica effectively utilizes hydrophobic substrates such as fatty acids and n-alkanes. To identify a gene(s) regulating fatty acid utilization in Y. lipolytica, we first studied homologous genes to OAF1 and PIP2 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, but their disruption did not change growth on oleic acid at all. We next characterized a Y. lipolytica gene, POR1 (primary oleate regulator 1), an ortholog of farA encoding a transcriptional activator that regulates fatty acid utilization in Aspergillus nidulans. The deletion mutant of POR1 was defective in the growth on various fatty acids, but not on glucose, glycerol, or n-hexadecane. It exhibited slight defect on n-decane. The transcriptional induction of genes involved in β-oxidation and peroxisome proliferation by oleate was distinctly diminished in the Δpor1 strains. These data suggest that POR1 encodes a transcriptional activator widely regulating fatty acid metabolism in Y. lipolytica.