A Lecithin Cholesterol Acyltransferase-like Gene Mediates Diacylglycerol Esterification in Yeast

The terminal step in triglyceride biosynthesis is the esterification of diacylglycerol. To study this reaction in the model eukaryote, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we investigated five candidate genes with sequence conservation to mammalian acyltransferases. Four of these genes are similar to the recently identified acyl-CoA diacylglycerol acyltransferase and, when deleted, resulted in little or no decrease in triglyceride synthesis as measured by incorporation of radiolabeled oleate or glycerol. By contrast, deletion of LRO1, a homolog of human lecithin cholesterol acyltransferase, resulted in a dramatic reduction in triglyceride synthesis, whereas overexpression of LRO1 yielded a significant increase in triglyceride production. In vitro microsomal assays determined that Lro1 mediated the esterification of diacylglycerol using phosphatidylcholine as the acyl donor. The residual triglyceride biosynthesis that persists in the LRO1 deletion strain is mainly acyl-CoA-dependent and mediated by a gene that is structurally distinct from the previously identified mammalian diacylglycerol acyltransferase. These mechanisms may also exist in mammalian cells.