Abstract
Advanced generations of biofuels basically revolve around non-agricultural energy crops. Among those, microalgae owing to its unique characteristics i.e. natural tolerance to waste and saline water, sustainable biomass production and high lipid content (LC), is regarded by many as the ultimate choice for the production of various biofuels such as biodiesel. In the present study, manipulation of carbon flux into fatty acid biosynthesis pathway in Dunaliella salina was achieved using pGH plasmid harboring AccD and ME genes to enhance lipid content and to improve produced biodiesel quality. The stability of transformation was confirmed by PCR after several passages. Southern hybridization of AccD probe with genomic DNA revealed stable integration of the cassette in the specific positions in the chloroplast genome with no read through transcription by indigenous promoters. Comparison of the LC and fatty acid profile of the transformed algal cell line and the control revealed the over-expression of the ME/AccD genes in the transformants leading to 12% increase in total LC and significant improvements in biodiesel properties especially by increasing algal oil oxidation stability. The whole process successfully implemented herein for transforming algal cells by genes involved in lipid production pathway could be helpful for large scale biodiesel production from microalgae.
Highlights
Unicellular microalgae have been at the center of attention of research efforts aimed at developing technologies for the renewable production of biofuels e.g. biodiesel
Comparison of the lipid content (LC) and fatty acid profile of the transformed algal cell line and the control revealed the over-expression of the Malic enzyme (ME)/AccD genes in the transformants leading to 12% increase in total LC and significant improvements in biodiesel properties especially by increasing algal oil oxidation stability
The feasibility of biodiesel production from genetically modified microalgae can be expedited if large-scale production facilities can be integrated with other processes, such as wastewater treatment and utilization of carbon dioxide from power plants
Summary
Unicellular microalgae have been at the center of attention of research efforts aimed at developing technologies for the renewable production of biofuels e.g. biodiesel. This is ascribed to the ability of algal cells to survive or proliferate over a wide range of environmental conditions, their remarkable diversity, and the ability to modify heir lipid metabolism efficiently through changing environmental conditions and genetic/metabolic engineering approaches. GE of the lipid production pathway in the context of the whole cell rather than at a single step, has recently provoked widespread studies These studies are aimed to channel carbon flux into lipid biosynthesis using multi-genes approach (Blatti et al, 2013) or to use the regulatory factors such as transcription factors (TFs) in order to control the abundance or activity of multiple enzymes relevant to the lipid production process ( Huang et al, 2013; Huanget al., 2014)
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