br Conclusion Determining whether the multiple putative alga

Conclusion Determining whether the multiple putative algal DGAT isoforms are functional DGATs via biochemical assays will be vital in our effort to genetically engineer algae to produce TAG on a large enough scale to make biodiesel production viable. As can be seen in O. tauri, it is possible that different DGAT2 isoforms may have different substrate preferences, which could lead to differential accumulation of TAG species. This may be a possible reason for the presence of multiple DGATs in unicellular algae. For the moment, we cannot discount the possibility that some of the algal DGAT2s may be MGATs or other members of the DGAT2 family and we will need to conduct biochemical assays on isolated DGAT2 proteins to determine their enzymatic characteristics. Moreover, an understanding of the relationship between the various DGAT activities and that of other enzymes of fatty Fmoc-Ala-OH and TAG biosynthesis such as PDAT as well as the regulatory controls operating on the pathway will be a vital step forward towards systematic genetic engineering of the TAG biosynthesis pathway.
Acknowledgements This work was supported by a Yousef Jameel Scholarship, administrated by the Cambridge Trusts. We are grateful to our colleagues, Dr. Sam Brockington and Dr. Matt Davey for contributing to fruitful discussion concerning phylogenetics and lipid metabolism respectively.
Introduction Psoralea corylifolia L. (Leguminosae), which called “Bu-Gu-Zhi” in China is an annual herbaceous plant distributed widely in Southeast Asia. Its seeds, known as Psoraleae Fructus, are traditionally used for the treatment of spermatorrhea, pollakiuria, asthma, and nephritis. A number of chemical constituents, including flavonoids, meroterpenes, bakuchiol and coumarins, have been isolated from this plant. Some of these compounds displayed a wide range of biological activities such as antioxidant [1], antibacterial [2], antiplatelet [3], anti-inflammatory [4], antidepressant-like [5], immunomodulatory and antitumor properties [6]. However, to the best of our knowledge, there is few report of the seeds of P. corylifolia eliciting glycosidase inhibition. Therefore, we consider about the preliminary study on DGAT activity of P. corylifolia.
Experimental
Acknowledgements This research was financially supported by the Scientific and Technological Developing Scheme of Jilin Province of People\'s Republic of China (20150101225JC).
Introduction Obesity is a serious health risk signal characterized by excess accumulation of triglycerides (TG) in tissue and can be lead to a variety of disorders, such as insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis (Lewis et al., 2002). Diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT) catalyzes the acyl-CoA-dependent acylation of sn-1,2-diacylglycerol and forms triacylglycerol (TAG), which is the terminal and rate-limiting step in TG synthesis and essential for the formation of adipose tissue (Cui et al., 2012). DGAT enzymes are encoded by two non-homology genes: DGAT1 and DGAT2 (Turchetto-Zolet et al., 2011). In contrast, DGAT1 as a member of the acyl CoA: cholesterol acyltransferase (ACAT) gene family is more homologous with ACAT1 and ACAT2 than with DGAT2, which is more closely related to the monoacylglycerol acyl transferase (MGAT) enzymes (Cases et al., 2001). Recent studies showed: mice that knockout DGAT1 has provided an understanding of relationship between TG synthesis and metabolic syndrome like obesity and type II diabetes. These DGAT1 deficient mice were resistant to weight gain when fed a high-fat diet through mechanisms that involved improve energy expenditure and increased sensitivity in insulin and leptin (Chen et al., 2002). Until now, some DGAT1 inhibitors such as JTT-553, PF-04620110, AZD7687 and LCQ908 (DeVita and Pinto, 2013) have been launching clinical trials, but also had a great of limitations. Thus the search for, searching for novel, selective, and orally bio-available DGAT1 inhibitors for the treatment of obesity and type II diabetes has been intensified.