Genetic Engineering for Microalgae Strain Improvement in Relation to Biocrude Production Systems

Abstract

An advanced understanding of the genetics of microalgae and the availability of molecular biology tools are both critical to the development of advanced strains, which offer efficiency advantages for primary production, and more specifically in the context of production for biocrude and renewable energy. Consequently, we outline the current state of the art in microalgal molecular biology including the available genome sequences, molecular techniques and toolkits, amenable strains for transformation of nuclear and plastid genomes, and the control of transgenes at both transcriptional and translational levels. We also examine some strategies for improvement of expression and regulation. We suggest the primary strategies in strain improvement that are most relevant to biocrude applications; briefly illustrate the process of photosynthesis to enable identification of targets for improvement of net photosynthetic conversion efficiency in mass cultivation; and further discuss how improvement of metabolic systems may also be achieved and benefit production models. Finally, we acknowledge the aspects of prudent risk assessment and consequent regulation that are developing and how our knowledge of natural algae in existing ecosystems, and GM work in conventional agriculture both contribute lessons to these discussions. We conclude that if properly managed, these developments provide significant potential for increasing global capacity for renewable fuel production from microalgae and that these developments could also have benefits for other applications.

High-throughput screen for high performance microalgae strain selection and integrated media design

“…Their ancient lineage (1.5-2 billion years since divergence from plants) and ability to colonise a broad range of ecological niches have led to the evolution of an estimated 350,000 species [1] and possibly more, providing a valuable genetic resource for breeding and genetic engineering. While to date, research has focussed on a limited number of production strains, rapid advances are being made in algae bio-prospecting [3,6,15,28,37], species purification [15], cryo-preservation [2] and genetic engineering [26,27,32]. However, given the diversity of microalgae, their specific production conditions must be individually optimised before their potential and handling requirements can be fully assessed.…”

Reaction conditions of ultrasound-assisted production of biodiesel: A review

“…Biological enzymatic , engineering microalgae , physical, and chemical methods are mainly used to produce biodiesel . Chemical method comprises chemical esterification , transesterification, and pyrolysis, and physical method includes direct mixing and microemulsion.…”

“…[ [24][25][26][63][64][65] Ultrasonic-assisted A method of ultrasound as an auxiliary tool to introduce chemical reactions and synthesis methods to promote the synthesis of biodiesel.…”

“…Biodiesel is mainly produced by physical [16,17], chemical [18][19][20], biological enzymatic [21][22][23], and engineering microalgae methods [24][25][26]. However, these techniques exhibit limitations, such as low yield [27,28], large amounts of impurities [29][30][31], high viscosity [32,33], poor performance at low temperatures [34][35][36][37], high cost of catalysts, and easy deactivation [23,31,32].…”

“…Limitations associated with ultrasonic-assisted production of biodiesel are also analyzed. Further development of this technology is explored.Biological enzymatic [21][22][23], engineering microalgae [24][25][26], physical, and chemical methods are mainly used to produce biodiesel [16][17][18][19][20]. Chemical method comprises chemical esterification [40,41], transesterification,…”