Microorganism lipid droplets and biofuel development

BMB Reports

Xuelin Zhang^4¹  Yingmei Liu^1,2²  Congyan Zhang^2,3³  Simon Cichello^5⁴  Xipeng Shen^2⁵ 

[1] Capital University of Physical Education and Sports, Beijing 100191, China^4;Marine College, Shandong University at Weihai, 180 Wenhua Xilu, Weihai, Shandong 264209^1;National Laboratory of Biomacromolecules, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101^2;School of Life Sciences, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria 3086, Australia^5;University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049^3

关键词: Biofuel;   

DOI  :  

学科分类：生物化学/生物物理

来源: Korean Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

【 摘 要 】

Lipid droplet (LD) is a cellular organelle that stores neutral lipids as a source of energy and carbon. However, recent research has emerged that the organelle is involved in lipid synthesis, transportation, and metabolism, as well as mediating cellular protein storage and degradation. With the exception of multi-cellular organisms, some unicellular microorganisms have been observed to contain LDs. The organelle has been isolated and characterized from numerous organisms. Triacylglycerol (TAG) accumulation in LDs can be in excess of 50% of the dry weight in some microorganisms, and a maximum of 87% in some instances. These microorganisms include eukaryotes such as yeast and green algae as well as prokaryotes such as bacteria. Some organisms obtain carbon from CO2 via photosynthesis, while the majority utilizes carbon from various types of biomass. Therefore, high TAG content generated by utilizing waste or cheap biomass, coupled with an efficient conversion rate, present these organisms as bio-tech 'factories' to produce biodiesel. This review summarizes LD research in these organisms and provides useful information for further LD biological research and microorganism biodiesel development.

【 授权许可】

Unknown