Abstract
One pressing issue faced by modern societies is to develop renewable energy for transportation. Microalgal biomass offers an attractive solution due to its high (annual) surface biomass productivity, efficient conversion of solar energy into chemical energy and the ability to grow on non-agricultural land. Despite these considerable advantages, microalgal biofuels are not yet commercially sustainable. Major challenges lie in improving both cultivation technologies and microalgal strains. A microalgal crop species is yet to emerge. In this review, we focus on researches aiming at understanding and harnessing lipid metabolism in microalgae in view of producing lipid-based biofuels such as biodiesel. Current biotechnological challenges and key progresses made in the development of algal models, genetic tools and lipid metabolic engineering strategies are reviewed. Possible future research directions to increase oil yields in microalgae are also highlighted.
Highlights
BiofuelPhysical properties of the oil and the biodiesel
Microalgae have been found to synthesize a large variety of fatty acids and lipids (Hu, et al, 2008; Harwood and Guschina, 2009), the composition of which often reflects adaptation to environmental conditions (Harwood and Guschina, 2009)
A homolog of this enzyme is present in some sequenced algal genomes including C. reinhardtii where a mutant of phospholipid:diacylglycerol acyltransferase (PDAT) is found to accumulate 30% less oil than its wild-type (Yoon, et al, 2012), establishing the contribution of this pathway to oil synthesis in the green algal lineage
Summary
Physical properties of the oil and the biodiesel. Modification of fatty acids (e.g. degree of unsaturation, chain length, introduction of functional groups such as hydroxyl or epoxy, etc.) has been one of the major targets of genetic engineering in plants and microalgae (Shanklin and Cahoon, 1998). Fatty acids produced by microalgae, represent a potential alternative to fossil fuels and to other petroleum derivatives (synthons for green chemistry)
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