Diacylglycerol kinase alleviates autophagic degradation of the endoplasmic reticulum in SPT10-deficient yeast to enhance triterpene biosynthesis

Abstract

A recent study showed that deletion of the gene encoding the transcription regulator SuPpressor of Ty10 (SPT10) increases total phospholipids, and our previous study established a critical link between phospholipids and the mevalonate/ergosterol (MEV/ERG) pathway, which synthesises triterpenes. This study aims to use spt10Δ yeast to improve triterpene production. Though MEV/ERG pathway was highly expressed in spt10Δ yeast, results showed insufficient accumulation of key metabolites and also revealed massive endoplasmic reticulum (ER) degradation. We found a stable, massive ER structure when we overexpressed diacylglycerol kinase1 (DGK1OE) in spt10Δ yeast. Analyses of ER-stress and autophagy suggest that DGK1OE in the spt10Δ strain decreased autophagy, resulting in increased MEV/ERG pathway activity. Heterologous expression of β-amyrin synthase showed significant production of the triterpene β-amyrin in DGK1OE spt10Δ yeast. Overall, our study provides a strategic approach to improve triterpene production by increasing ER biogenesis while limiting ER degradation.