Sesamol-induced squalene biosynthesis transcriptomic data in Schizochytrium from Majorbio (PRJCA038558)

Squalene is a natural triterpene compound that is widely used in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. Schizochytrium sp. is a promising host for squalene production due to the abundance of precursors acetyl-CoA and NADPH. Our previous studies have shown that iron deficiency is the most efficient strategy for squalene production by Schizochytrium sp., but it has the disadvantage of inhibiting cell growth. We hypothesized that this growth inhibition was caused by oxidative damage. To address this challenge, sesamol was chosen from five antioxidants according to squalene yield and cell growth, and a maximum squalene yield of 199.98 mg/g lipid could be obtained from the 1.5 mM sesamol addition group. Subsequent transcriptomic analysis revealed that sesamol not only increased NADPH supply but also upregulated ABC-G protein expression to enhance transmembrane transport efficiency and reduced the reliance of Schizochytrium sp. on the iron metabolism pathway.