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Marine Drugs
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Novel Biotechnology of Microalgae
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Novel Biotechnology of Microalgae

A special issue of Marine Drugs (ISSN 1660-3397). This special issue belongs to the section "Marine Biotechnology Related to Drug Discovery or Production".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2024) | Viewed by 10404

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Celine Laroche

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institut Pascal, Université Clermont Auvergne, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France
Interests: microalgae; photobioreactors; polysaccharides; pigments; biorefinery; bioprocesses; biological activities
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Microalgae represent a large taxonomic diversity making them very attractive to produce valuable and diverse biomolecules (such as pigments, proteins, enzymes, biofuels, polyunsaturated fatty acids and hydrocolloids). As a consequence, literature describing biological activities and potential applications in health or cosmetic fields are increasing. Despite this, the development and commercialization of these metabolites are still early and only niche markets are currently available for microalgae products. Their low usage may be easily explained by the costs involved in microalgae production, linked to the photoproduction, the harvest of microalgae in diluted media, the recycling of culture media and the difficulty to refine this biomass. However, apart from these bioprocesses constraints, some improvements can also be done at the cellular level, as some of the metabolic pathways remain to resolve. The aim of this Special Issue is then to provide recent reviews and original research articles highlighting the dynamism of the research in the field of microalgae biotechnology for biomolecules production. This includes (but is not limited to) screening and characterization of microalgae strains, factors affecting molecules production, biological activities, molecules characterization, structure-functions relationship, metabolic pathways, etc

Prof. Dr. Celine Laroche
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Marine Drugs is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • microalgae
  • molecules
  • biological activity
  • metabolic pathway
  • microalgae culture

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 2094 KiB  
Article
Improving Determination of Pigment Contents in Microalgae Suspension with Absorption Spectroscopy: Light Scattering Effect and Bouguer–Lambert–Beer Law
by Yen-Cheng Yeh, Tobias Ebbing, Konstantin Frick, Ulrike Schmid-Staiger, Bernard Haasdonk and Günter E. M. Tovar
Mar. Drugs 2023, 21(12), 619; https://doi.org/10.3390/md21120619 - 29 Nov 2023
Viewed by 1482
Abstract
The Bouguer–Lambert–Beer (BLB) law serves as the fundamental basis for the spectrophotometric determination of pigment content in microalgae. Although it has been observed that the applicability of the BLB law is compromised by the light scattering effect in microalgae suspensions, in-depth research concerning [...] Read more.
The Bouguer–Lambert–Beer (BLB) law serves as the fundamental basis for the spectrophotometric determination of pigment content in microalgae. Although it has been observed that the applicability of the BLB law is compromised by the light scattering effect in microalgae suspensions, in-depth research concerning the relationship between the light scattering effect and the accuracy of spectrophotometric pigment determination remains scarce. We hypothesized that (1) the precision of spectrophotometric pigment content determination using the BLB law would diminish with increasing nonlinearity of absorbance, and (2) employing the modified version of the BLB (mBLB) law would yield superior performance. To assess our hypotheses, we cultivated Phaeodactylum tricornutum under varying illumination conditions and nitrogen supplies in controlled indoor experiments, resulting in suspensions with diverse pigment contents. Subsequently, P. tricornutum samples were diluted into subsamples, and spectral measurements were conducted using different combinations of biomass concentrations and path lengths. This was carried out to assess the applicability of the BLB law and the nonlinearity of absorbance. The chlorophyll a and fucoxanthin contents in the samples were analyzed via high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and subsequently used in our modeling. Our findings confirm our hypotheses, showing that the modified BLB law outperforms the original BLB law in terms of the normalized root mean square error (NRMSE): 6.3% for chlorophyll a and 5.8% for fucoxanthin, compared to 8.5% and 7.9%, respectively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Biotechnology of Microalgae)
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21 pages, 2388 KiB  
Article
Promoting Heme and Phycocyanin Biosynthesis in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 by Overexpression of Porphyrin Pathway Genes with Genetic Engineering
by Kai Cao, Xiaodong Wang, Fengjie Sun, Hao Zhang, Yulin Cui, Yujiao Cao, Qingshou Yao, Xiangyu Zhu, Ting Yao, Meng Wang, Chunxiao Meng and Zhengquan Gao
Mar. Drugs 2023, 21(7), 403; https://doi.org/10.3390/md21070403 - 13 Jul 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2108
Abstract
Due to their unique biochemical and spectroscopic properties, both heme and phycocyanobilin are widely applied in the medical and food industries. Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 contains both heme and phycocyanin, and is capable of synthesizing phycocyanin using heme as a precursor. The aim [...] Read more.
Due to their unique biochemical and spectroscopic properties, both heme and phycocyanobilin are widely applied in the medical and food industries. Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 contains both heme and phycocyanin, and is capable of synthesizing phycocyanin using heme as a precursor. The aim of this study was to uncover viable metabolic targets in the porphyrin pathway from Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 to promote the accumulation of heme and phycocyanin in the recombinant strains of microalgae. A total of 10 genes related to heme synthesis pathway derived from Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 and 12 genes related to endogenous heme synthesis were individually overexpressed in strain PCC 6803. The growth rate and pigment content (heme, phycocyanin, chlorophyll a and carotenoids) of 22 recombinant algal strains were characterized. Quantitative real-time PCR technology was used to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the changes in physiological indicators in the recombinant algal strains. Among the 22 mutant strains, the mutant overexpressing the haemoglobin gene (glbN) of strain PCC 6803 had the highest heme content, which was 2.5 times higher than the wild type; the mutant overexpressing the gene of strain PCC 7942 (hemF) had the highest phycocyanin content, which was 4.57 times higher than the wild type. Overall, the results suggest that genes in the porphyrin pathway could significantly affect the heme and phycocyanin content in strain PCC 6803. Our study provides novel crucial targets for promoting the accumulation of heme and phycocyanin in cyanobacteria. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Biotechnology of Microalgae)
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20 pages, 5310 KiB  
Article
Identification and Characterization of ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
by Xiangyu Li, Xiaolian Li, Xingcai Yang, Chengxiang Lan, Ying Huang and Bin Jia
Mar. Drugs 2022, 20(10), 603; https://doi.org/10.3390/md20100603 - 25 Sep 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2058
Abstract
Microalgae are promising microorganisms used to produce value-added products or to develop sustainable approaches for environmental remediation. The ATP-binding cassette proteins (ABCs) of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii have been characterized as indispensable transporters for CO2 concentrating mechanism, lipid biosynthesis, and heavy metal sequestration. However, [...] Read more.
Microalgae are promising microorganisms used to produce value-added products or to develop sustainable approaches for environmental remediation. The ATP-binding cassette proteins (ABCs) of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii have been characterized as indispensable transporters for CO2 concentrating mechanism, lipid biosynthesis, and heavy metal sequestration. However, few microalgal ABC proteins have been studied compared with higher plants or non-photosynthetic microorganisms. This study performed a genome-wide, evolutionary, and transcriptomic survey of C. reinhardtii ABC proteins (CrABCs). A total of 75 CrABCs were identified and classed into eight ABC subfamilies, from ABCA to ABCI. We found that no whole or partial genome duplication events occurred in C. reinhardtii after the ancient endosymbiosis events, but gene duplications occurred in a small range of chromosomal regions, which forced ABC family expansion. Abundant light, abscisic acid, and jasmonic acid response cis-elements were mapped in the CrABC promoters, coinciding with the evolutionary history of hormone signaling in Chlorophyta. The expression survey under light/dark rhythms revealed a close bond of CrABCs with cell division and development. A broad study of CrABCs supported their expected roles in heavy metal detoxification, lipid metabolism, and environmental adaptation. Moreover, the evolutionary and expression survey predicted the functions of unknown CrABCs, which are elaborated in the text. Two half-size CrABCGs—CrABCG3 and CrABCG26—were described as plasma-membrane transporters that might participate in lipidic compound secretion. This study provides fundamental and exhaustive information about CrABCs, which are indispensable for the functional elucidation of ABC proteins in microalgae. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Biotechnology of Microalgae)
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12 pages, 1829 KiB  
Article
Extracellular Metabolites of Heterotrophic Auxenochlorella protothecoides: A New Source of Bio-Stimulants for Higher Plants
by Yujiao Qu, Xinxiang Chen, Beibei Ma, Huachang Zhu, Xuan Zheng, Jiazhen Yu, Qinghui Wu, Rong Li, Ziqiang Wang and Yibo Xiao
Mar. Drugs 2022, 20(9), 569; https://doi.org/10.3390/md20090569 - 07 Sep 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2027
Abstract
The biodiversity of microalgal species is enormous, and their versatile metabolism produces a wide diversity of compounds that can be used in food, healthcare, and other applications. Microalgae are also a potential source of bio-stimulants that enhance nutrition efficiency, abiotic stress tolerance, and/or [...] Read more.
The biodiversity of microalgal species is enormous, and their versatile metabolism produces a wide diversity of compounds that can be used in food, healthcare, and other applications. Microalgae are also a potential source of bio-stimulants that enhance nutrition efficiency, abiotic stress tolerance, and/or crop quality traits. In this study, the extracellular metabolites of Auxenochlorella protothecoides (EAp) were prepared using three different culture strategies, and their effects on plant growth were examined. Furthermore, the composition of EAp was analyzed by GC-MS. The elongation of lateral roots and the cold-tolerance of Arabidopsis thaliana and Nicotiana benthamiana were promoted by EAp. Moreover, EAp from high-cell-density fermentation stimulated the growth of the leafy vegetables Brassica rapa and Lactuca sativa at dilutions as high as 500- and 1000-fold. Three major groups of compounds were identified by GC-MS, including organic acids or organic acid esters, phenols, and saccharides. Some of these compounds have known plant–stimulating effects, while the rest requires further investigation in the future. Our study demonstrates that EAp is a potential bio-stimulant, while also providing an environmentally friendly and economical microalgae fermentation process. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Biotechnology of Microalgae)
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Review

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18 pages, 1753 KiB  
Review
Recent Progress of Natural and Recombinant Phycobiliproteins as Fluorescent Probes
by Huaxin Chen, Jinglong Deng, Longqi Li, Zhe Liu, Shengjie Sun and Peng Xiong
Mar. Drugs 2023, 21(11), 572; https://doi.org/10.3390/md21110572 - 31 Oct 2023
Viewed by 1891
Abstract
Phycobiliproteins (PBPs) are natural water-soluble pigment proteins, which constitute light-collecting antennae, and function in algae photosynthesis, existing in cyanobacteria, red algae, and cryptomonads. They are special pigment–protein complexes in algae with a unique structure and function. According to their spectral properties, PBPs can [...] Read more.
Phycobiliproteins (PBPs) are natural water-soluble pigment proteins, which constitute light-collecting antennae, and function in algae photosynthesis, existing in cyanobacteria, red algae, and cryptomonads. They are special pigment–protein complexes in algae with a unique structure and function. According to their spectral properties, PBPs can be mainly divided into three types: allophycocyanin, phycocyanin, and PE. At present, there are two main sources of PBPs: one is natural PBPs extracted from algae and the other way is recombinant PBPs which are produced in engineered microorganisms. The covalent connection between PBP and streptavidin was realized by gene fusion. The bridge cascade reaction not only improved the sensitivity of PBP as a fluorescent probe but also saved the preparation time of the probe, which expands the application range of PBPs as fluorescent probes. In addition to its function as a light-collecting antenna in photosynthesis, PBPs also have the functions of biological detection, ion detection, and fluorescence imaging. Notably, increasing studies have designed novel PBP-based far-red fluorescent proteins, which enable the tracking of gene expression and cell fate. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Biotechnology of Microalgae)
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