Rhodococcus jostii RHA1 TadA-homolog deletion mutants accumulate less polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) that the parental strain

Transcriptome studies confirm the nitrogen limited physiological state of both the wild-type and mutant cells. In addition, multiple differentially expressed genes involved in the synthesis and consumption of pools of acetyl-CoA, acetoacetyl-CoA and 3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA, key metabolites for PHA and TAG synthesis, were identified. An enrichment analysis of differentially expressed genes in the nitrogen starved wild-type versus the isogenic RHA1_ro02104 mutant strain identified genes in the mutant involved in fatty acid and lipid as well as genes involved in acyl-CoA hydrolysis and triacylglycerol degradation. An 8 x 15K array study using total RNA recovered from triplicate cultures of Rhodococcus jostii RHA1 under nitrogen rich and nitrogen starved conditions and triplicate cultures of Rhodococcus jostii RHA1 TadA-homolog deletion mutants (2104) under nitrogen rich and nitrogen starved conditions.