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Today, most of the lipid composition of the cells underlying biology is a black box for scientists. Although lipids are a major group of biomolecules, they are difficult to study because their synthesis is regulated by a complex metabolism.
Researchers at the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI), the Berkeley Lab, and the Novo Nordisk Foundation for Biosustainability at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU Biosustain) have found a way to modify the fat membranes of cells. Researchers have increased the ability of cells to produce large amounts of fluid fats, called unsaturated fats. This increased the membrane respiration as well as the growth rate of the cell.
This knowledge could be an advantage when transforming E. coli bacteria or baker's yeast into cells to produce biofuels, biochemicals or biopharmaceuticals. Therefore, this method could become very important in industries working with cell factories.
The research has now been published in Science.
The researchers showed how to manipulate the lipid composition of E. coli and baker's yeast. The next step is to show that the method also works for mammalian cells.
"The applications for future work are not industrial, but rather related to health." Several diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, lead to stiffer membranes and also have an alteration of mitochondrial function, said the first author, Postdoc Itay Budin of JBEI.
Mitochondria are the central units of the cell. Cells whose mitochondrial function is impaired function slowly compared to normal cells. Making the cell membrane more fluid could normalize mitochondrial function.
"We are excited about this work – it shows that synthetic biology and metabolic engineering can be applied to obtain basic information about fundamental biological processes, which is very important for developing new treatments for patients. diseases that we do not fundamentally understand the mechanisms behind, "says co-author, professor at JBEI and scientific director at DTU Biosustain Jay Keasling.
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Material provided by Technical University of Denmark. Note: Content can be changed for style and length.
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