Microalgae in the postgenomic era: a blooming reservoir for new natural products

Sasso, Severin; Pohnert, Georg; Lohr, Martin; Mittag, Maria; Hertweck, Christian

doi:10.1111/j.1574-6976.2011.00304.x

Cited by 145 publications

(106 citation statements)

References 196 publications

(408 reference statements)

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“…[6], in some species, alternative pathways exist for the biosynthesis of AA and EPA, involving elongation of the C 18 precursors, followed by Δ8 and Δ5 desaturation. In microalgae, DHA is obtained through EPA elongation into docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) and subsequent desaturation by Δ4 desaturase, or through the anaerobic polyketide synthase (PKS) pathway, as it has been suggested for thraustochytrids [56] and has been inferred in silico for the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi Hay and Mohler [4], which are known for their potential to accumulate important amounts of PUFA [57,58]. These pathways are different from the metabolic synthesis of DHA found in animals, known to occur through the Sprecher’s shunt [59].…”

Section: Microalgae As Sources Of N-3 Lc-pufamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This review will focus on the long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA), their role in promoting human health or disease, and the dire need for alternative sources of LC-PUFA able to replace fish meal/oil as the bulk provider for this important class of biochemicals. Although a few topics have been covered elsewhere [4,5,6,7], this review integrates the current knowledge on microalgal LC-PUFA biosynthesis and the use of specific examples of commercial photo- and heterotrophic microalgae for the production of fatty acids (FA) that can have an impact on the health of humans and other vertebrates. Lastly, this review discusses the methods usually employed in LC-PUFA quantitation and the care needed for preventing LC-PUFA depletion upon microalgal cell disruption, which could lead to incorrect fatty acid profiles.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Alternative Sources of n-3 Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Marine Microalgae

et al. 2013

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The main source of n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) in human nutrition is currently seafood, especially oily fish. Nonetheless, due to cultural or individual preferences, convenience, geographic location, or awareness of risks associated to fatty fish consumption, the intake of fatty fish is far from supplying the recommended dietary levels. The end result observed in most western countries is not only a low supply of n-3 LC-PUFA, but also an unbalance towards the intake of n-6 fatty acids, resulting mostly from the consumption of vegetable oils. Awareness of the benefits of LC-PUFA in human health has led to the use of fish oils as food supplements. However, there is a need to explore alternatives sources of LC-PUFA, especially those of microbial origin. Microalgae species with potential to accumulate lipids in high amounts and to present elevated levels of n-3 LC-PUFA are known in marine phytoplankton. This review focuses on sources of n-3 LC-PUFA, namely eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids, in marine microalgae, as alternatives to fish oils. Based on current literature, examples of marketed products and potentially new species for commercial exploitation are presented.

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Section: Microalgae As Sources Of N-3 Lc-pufamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alternative Sources of n-3 Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Marine Microalgae

et al. 2013

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“…However, there are some studies that give strong indications of large chemical diversity within same species at varying environmental conditions, between species [17] and also between strains of the same species [18]. The diatom genomes are large, and several species have been genome sequenced, such as the centric diatom, Thalassiosira pseudonana (32.4 Mb), and the pennate diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum (27.4 Mb) [6,19]. Large amounts of “functionally unknown” sequences were found, indicating that the diatoms might have potentials for metabolic flexibility and high chemical diversity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Large amounts of “functionally unknown” sequences were found, indicating that the diatoms might have potentials for metabolic flexibility and high chemical diversity. This is supported by the fact that diatoms are known to produce a wide array of secondary metabolites [19]. …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemical Diversity as a Function of Temperature in Six Northern Diatom Species

et al. 2013

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In this study, we investigate how metabolic fingerprints are related to temperature. Six common northern temperate diatoms (Attheya longicornis, Chaetoceros socialis, Chaetoceros furcellatus, Porosira glacialis, Skeletonema marinoi, and Thalassiosira gravida) were cultivated at two different temperatures, 0.5 and 8.5 °C. To exclude metabolic variations due to differences in growth rates, the growth rates were kept similar by performing the experiments under light limited conditions but in exponential growth phase. Growth rates and maximum quantum yield of photosynthesis were measured and interpreted as physiological variables, and metabolic fingerprints were acquired by high-resolution mass spectrometry. The chemical diversity varied substantially between the two temperatures for the tested species, ranging from 31% similarity for C. furcellatus and P. glacialis to 81% similarity for A. longicornis. The chemical diversity was generally highest at the lowest temperature.

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“…To date, microalgae have been mainly used for the production of food compounds or high-value added compounds like carotenoids (Spolaore et al, 2006; Sasso et al, 2012). In addition, as photosynthetic organisms, microalgae are very efficient in converting sunlight into chemical energy, making them attractive for the production of carbohydrates, lipids, and hydrogen.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Protein N-glycosylation in eukaryotic microalgae and its impact on the production of nuclear expressed biopharmaceuticals

et al. 2014

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Microalgae are currently used for the production of food compounds. Recently, few microalgae species have been investigated as potential biofactories for the production of biopharmaceuticals. Indeed in this context, microalgae are cheap, classified as Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) organisms and can be grown easily. However, problems remain to be solved before any industrial production of microalgae-made biopharmaceuticals. Among them, post-translational modifications of the proteins need to be considered. Especially, N-glycosylation acquired by the secreted recombinant proteins is of major concern since most of the biopharmaceuticals are N-glycosylated and it is well recognized that glycosylation represent one of their critical quality attribute. Therefore, the evaluation of microalgae as alternative cell factory for biopharmaceutical productions thus requires to investigate their N-glycosylation capability in order to determine to what extend it differs from their human counterpart and to determine appropriate strategies for remodeling the microalgae glycosylation into human-compatible oligosaccharides. Here, we review the secreted recombinant proteins which have been successfully produced in microalgae. We also report on recent bioinformatics and biochemical data concerning the structure of glycans N-linked to proteins from various microalgae phyla and comment the consequences on the glycan engineering strategies that may be necessary to render those microalgae-made biopharmaceuticals compatible with human therapy.

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Microalgae in the postgenomic era: a blooming reservoir for new natural products

Cited by 145 publications

References 196 publications

Alternative Sources of n-3 Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Marine Microalgae

Alternative Sources of n-3 Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Marine Microalgae

Chemical Diversity as a Function of Temperature in Six Northern Diatom Species

Protein N-glycosylation in eukaryotic microalgae and its impact on the production of nuclear expressed biopharmaceuticals

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