Gibberellic acid-induced fatty acid metabolism and ABC transporters promote astaxanthin production in Phaffia rhodozyma

Aims Astaxanthin is an important natural antioxidant with various biological functions; however, the production of astaxanthin does not meet the requirements for industrialization. The aim of the present study was to identify an inducer that increases astaxanthin yield and to evaluate the regulatory mechanism of the induction of astaxanthin synthesis in Phaffia rhodozyma. Methods and Results The effects of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), jasmonic acid (JA) and gibberellic acid (GA) on astaxanthin synthesis were studied by fermentation kinetics analysis. Then, combined transcriptomics and metabolomics approaches were used to analyse differential metabolites and expressed genes involved in astaxanthin synthesis induced by GA. The results indicated that GA significantly increased astaxanthin production; however, IAA and JA had no significant effect on astaxanthin synthesis. The induction by GA significantly enhanced fatty acid metabolism and ABC transporters, increased the expression of fatty acid desaturase and ABC transporter genes, and elevated the contents of unsaturated fatty acids. Conclusions These results suggested that fatty acid saturation plays an important role in astaxanthin accumulation and that ABC transporters may be the efflux pumps for astaxanthin. Significance and Impact of the Study The present study reveals metabolic mechanism of GA-induced astaxanthin synthesis and proposes a new strategy of transporter engineering to improve astaxanthin production.