Genetic Engineering for Enhancement of Biofuel Production in Microalgae

Abstract

In recent decades, there has been a tremendous increase in fuel requirement all around the world. This has caused severe exploitation of conventional fuel resources leading to subsequent increase in the level of pollution owing to their consumption. There is a growing concern regarding exploration of alternate, safe sources of energy. Since the time immemorial, algae are known for producing a vast array of useful products, which has benefited the mankind. Algae also harbor high amount of biomolecules such as lipids and carbohydrates, which can be converted into biofuels. Therefore, algal biofuels have gained tremendous attention in past few years and several technologies related to algal biofuels have been developed. The major drawback in this area is the limited potential of algae to synthesize biomolecules to be converted into biofuels. Since, the demand of biofuels is very high and production is very low, therefore, genetic engineering technologies were explored to increase the yield of biofuels. In this chapter, we have discussed different types of biofuels produced from microalgae and recent genetic engineering-based studies employed for sustainable biofuel production.