Genetic Engineering of Microalgae for Enhanced Photosynthetic Efficiency

Photosynthetic microalgae are emerging as potential biomass feedstocks for the sustainable production of biofuels and value-added bioproducts. Enhancing CO₂ fixation by improving photosynthetic efficiency is a crucial process to increase biomass production from microalgae. Here, Lifeasible offers specialized solutions for the genetic engineering of microalgae to improve photosynthetic efficiency.

Photosynthetic Efficiency and Biomass Production

Global warming caused by the rapid increase of CO₂ in the atmosphere poses a significant challenge for global sustainability. In recent years, green microalgae with unique advantages have emerged as potential candidates for CO₂ mitigation in a sustainable low-carbon economy. Many green microalgae species are often well tolerated to high levels of CO₂ and can efficiently fix CO₂ from different sources in an eco-friendly manner. In addition, they can combine the renewable process of photosynthetic CO₂ fixation with the production of value-added bioactive compounds from microalgae under controlled conditions, thus offsetting the mitigation costs of economic sustainability. However, green microalgae-based CO₂ strategies are limited by the relatively low photosynthetic capacity inherent in green microalgae. Genetic engineering of microalgae to improve photosynthetic efficiency for enhanced CO₂ fixation is an essential strategy for conducting biomass production.

Fig 1. The overview of approaches to improve CO₂ sequestration of microalgae. (Barati B, et al., 2021)

Customized Solutions

Improving photosynthesis is essential to increase both biomass productivity and CO₂ fixation efficiency. Improvements in photosynthesis are often achieved by increasing the efficiency of enzymes involved in CO₂ fixation. Lifeasible has been working on the transformation of new genetic constructs of microalgae to improve photosynthetic efficiency. Our skilled scientists have transformed and gene-edited to achieve more efficient pathways and enzymes to replace existing carbon fixation pathways to increase CO₂ assimilation and reduce the release of captured CO₂.

We offer the following three main potential targets to improve CO₂ fixation by microalgae through genetic engineering:

(1) Increase the efficiency of the CO₂ fixation pathway.

(2) Altering the energy harvesting complex.

(3) Introducing additional carbon fixation pathways to reduce CO₂ and energy loss.

Our Genetic Engineering Strategies to Improve Photosynthesis in Microalgae

• The selectivity and catalytic rate of RuBisCO were simultaneously improved by genetic engineering.
• Other relatively low-abundance enzymes in the regeneration stage of the Calvin cycle, such as fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (FBPase), fructose 1,6-bisphosphate aldolase (FBA), were genetically engineered.
• CO₂ Concentration Mechanism (CCM) components are engineered through genetic engineering.
• Reducing the size of the antenna or light-harvesting complex by genetic engineering.
• Intracellular spectral recombination established by genetic engineering.

Our Available Genetic Modification Methods

• Random Mutagenesis
• Targeted Genetic Modification

At Lifeasible, we can quickly help you overexpress or knock out enzymes involved in photosynthesis to improve CO₂ sequestration by microalgae for viable biomass production and biofuel production. We are your trusted partner in all aspects of microalgae research. If you are interested in our solutions for the genetic engineering of microalgae to improve photosynthetic efficiency, please do not hesitate to contact us.