The Unicellular Red Alga <i>Cyanidioschyzon merolae</i>, an Excellent Model Organism for Elucidating Fundamental Molecular Mechanisms and Their Applications in Biofuel Production
Microalgae are considered one of the best resources for the production of biofuels and industrially important compounds. Various models have been developed to understand the fundamental mechanism underlying the accumulation of triacylglycerols (TAGs)/starch and to enhance its content in cells. Among...
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MDPI AG
2021-06-01
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| author | Imran Pancha Kazuhiro Takaya Kan Tanaka Sousuke Imamura |
| author_facet | Imran Pancha Kazuhiro Takaya Kan Tanaka Sousuke Imamura |
| author_sort | Imran Pancha |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Microalgae are considered one of the best resources for the production of biofuels and industrially important compounds. Various models have been developed to understand the fundamental mechanism underlying the accumulation of triacylglycerols (TAGs)/starch and to enhance its content in cells. Among various algae, the red alga <i>Cyanidioschyzon</i><i>merolae</i> has been considered an excellent model system to understand the fundamental mechanisms behind the accumulation of TAG/starch in the microalga, as it has a smaller genome size and various biotechnological methods are available for it. Furthermore, <i>C. merolae</i> can grow and survive under high temperature (40 °C) and low pH (2–3) conditions, where most other organisms would die, thus making it a choice alga for large-scale production. Investigations using this alga has revealed that the target of rapamycin (TOR) kinase is involved in the accumulation of carbon-reserved molecules, TAGs, and starch. Furthermore, detailed molecular mechanisms of the role of TOR in controlling the accumulation of TAGs and starch were uncovered via omics analyses. Based on these findings, genetic engineering of the key gene and proteins resulted in a drastic increment of the amount of TAGs and starch. In addition to these studies, other trials that attempted to achieve the TAG increment in <i>C. merolae</i> have been summarized in this article. |
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| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T10:23:11Z |
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| spelling | doaj.art-2b68e20fb99a4b58a9c9fae5bc3e575d2023-11-22T00:15:20ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472021-06-01106121810.3390/plants10061218The Unicellular Red Alga <i>Cyanidioschyzon merolae</i>, an Excellent Model Organism for Elucidating Fundamental Molecular Mechanisms and Their Applications in Biofuel ProductionImran Pancha0Kazuhiro Takaya1Kan Tanaka2Sousuke Imamura3Department of Biological Sciences, SRM University-AP, Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh 522502, IndiaNTT Space Environment and Energy Laboratories, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, 3-9-11 Midori-cho, Musashino-shi, Tokyo 180-8585, JapanLaboratory for Chemistry and Life Science, Institute of Innovative Research, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259-R1-29 Nagatsuta, Midori-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa 226-8503, JapanNTT Space Environment and Energy Laboratories, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, 3-9-11 Midori-cho, Musashino-shi, Tokyo 180-8585, JapanMicroalgae are considered one of the best resources for the production of biofuels and industrially important compounds. Various models have been developed to understand the fundamental mechanism underlying the accumulation of triacylglycerols (TAGs)/starch and to enhance its content in cells. Among various algae, the red alga <i>Cyanidioschyzon</i><i>merolae</i> has been considered an excellent model system to understand the fundamental mechanisms behind the accumulation of TAG/starch in the microalga, as it has a smaller genome size and various biotechnological methods are available for it. Furthermore, <i>C. merolae</i> can grow and survive under high temperature (40 °C) and low pH (2–3) conditions, where most other organisms would die, thus making it a choice alga for large-scale production. Investigations using this alga has revealed that the target of rapamycin (TOR) kinase is involved in the accumulation of carbon-reserved molecules, TAGs, and starch. Furthermore, detailed molecular mechanisms of the role of TOR in controlling the accumulation of TAGs and starch were uncovered via omics analyses. Based on these findings, genetic engineering of the key gene and proteins resulted in a drastic increment of the amount of TAGs and starch. In addition to these studies, other trials that attempted to achieve the TAG increment in <i>C. merolae</i> have been summarized in this article.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/6/1218<i>C. merolae</i>metabolic engineeringstarchTAGstarget of rapamycin |
| spellingShingle | Imran Pancha Kazuhiro Takaya Kan Tanaka Sousuke Imamura The Unicellular Red Alga <i>Cyanidioschyzon merolae</i>, an Excellent Model Organism for Elucidating Fundamental Molecular Mechanisms and Their Applications in Biofuel Production Plants <i>C. merolae</i> metabolic engineering starch TAGs target of rapamycin |
| title | The Unicellular Red Alga <i>Cyanidioschyzon merolae</i>, an Excellent Model Organism for Elucidating Fundamental Molecular Mechanisms and Their Applications in Biofuel Production |
| title_full | The Unicellular Red Alga <i>Cyanidioschyzon merolae</i>, an Excellent Model Organism for Elucidating Fundamental Molecular Mechanisms and Their Applications in Biofuel Production |
| title_fullStr | The Unicellular Red Alga <i>Cyanidioschyzon merolae</i>, an Excellent Model Organism for Elucidating Fundamental Molecular Mechanisms and Their Applications in Biofuel Production |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Unicellular Red Alga <i>Cyanidioschyzon merolae</i>, an Excellent Model Organism for Elucidating Fundamental Molecular Mechanisms and Their Applications in Biofuel Production |
| title_short | The Unicellular Red Alga <i>Cyanidioschyzon merolae</i>, an Excellent Model Organism for Elucidating Fundamental Molecular Mechanisms and Their Applications in Biofuel Production |
| title_sort | unicellular red alga i cyanidioschyzon merolae i an excellent model organism for elucidating fundamental molecular mechanisms and their applications in biofuel production |
| topic | <i>C. merolae</i> metabolic engineering starch TAGs target of rapamycin |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/6/1218 |
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