Life Sciences Commons^™

The Taurine Biosynthetic Pathway Of Microalgae, Rahul Tevatia, James Allen, Deepak Rudrappa, Derrick White, Thomas E. Clemente, Heriberto Cerutti, Yaşar Demirel, Paul H. Blum

Center for Plant Science Innovation: Faculty and Staff Publications

Taurine (2-aminoethanesulfonic acid) is an amino acid–like compound widely distributed in animals and an essential nutrient in some species. Targeted metabolomics of marine and freshwater microalgae combined with medium supplementation identified biosynthetic pathway intermediates and necessary catalytic activities. Genomic analysis was then used to predict the first taurine biosynthetic pathway in these organisms. MRM-based electrospray ionization (ESI) LC–MS/MS analysis demonstrated that taurine is synthesized using a carbon backbone from L-serine combined with sulfur derived from sulfate. Metabolite analysis showed a nonuniform pattern in levels of pathway intermediates that were both species and supplement dependent. While increased culture salinity raised taurine …