Abstract
BACKGROUND: Inorganic polyphosphate bodies (PPB) have recently been linked to a variety of functions in mammalian cells. To improve the yield of PPB from Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 and characterize its form, in this study, a recombinant plasmid containing a polyphosphate kinase (ppk) gene was generated and transformed into Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002. RESULTS: PPB separated by Sephadex G-100 was characterized and added to polarized human intestinal epithelial (Caco-2) cells, and the absorption effect was assessed. The ppk gene was stably expressed by induction with 1 μM nickel, and the resulting PPB yield from Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 cells increased by 89.66%. Transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering analyses showed that PPB from these cells were nanosized, ranging from a few to approximately 100 nanometres in diameter. PPB can be taken up by Caco-2 cells and are mainly distributed around lipid droplets. CONCLUSIONS: We determined that PPB can be overproduced in Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 and that the resulting PPB were well absorbed by Caco-2 cells. Microalgae provide a promising "cell factory" for PPB production.