Evaluating the effect of seasonal conditions on metabolism and photosynthetic performance of Picochlorum sp. and its influence on biomass productivity

Manjre, Suvarna; Paul, Kenny; Patil, Smita; Pai, Puja; Banerjee, Arun K.; Sarkar, Purnamrita; Teredesai, Aniket; Shukla, Manish; Dasgupta, Santanu

doi:10.1016/j.biteb.2022.101029

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Here, we describe depigmented strains of a remarkably fast‐growing, high‐light tolerant microalga, Picochlorum celeri . The Picochlorum genus (Henley et al, 2004 ) has become the focus of several recent studies because of their high stress tolerances, as well as their small, compact genomes (Barten et al, 2020 ; Dahlin et al, 2019 ; Foflonker et al, 2016 ; Gonzalez‐Esquer et al, 2019 ; Manjre et al, 2022 ; Weissman et al, 2018 ). P. celeri demonstrates broad halotolerance, an exceptional ability to thrive at high light intensities (>2000 μmol photons m −2 s −1 ), temperatures (>35°C), and salinities (2–3× seawater), and can attain rapid doubling times of ~2 h under optimal conditions (Krishnan et al, 2021 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simultaneous CAS9 editing of cpSRP43, LHCA6, and LHCA7 in Picochlorum celeri lowers chlorophyll levels and improves biomass productivity

Krishnan,

Cano,

Karns

et al. 2023

Plant Direct

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High cellular pigment levels in dense microalgal cultures contribute to excess light absorption. To improve photosynthetic yields in the marine microalga Picochlorum celeri, CAS9 gene editing was used to target the molecular chaperone cpSRP43. Depigmented strains (>50% lower chlorophyll) were generated, with proteomics showing attenuated levels of most light harvesting complex (LHC) proteins. Gene editing generated two types of cpSRP43 transformants with distinct lower pigment phenotypes: (i) a transformant (Δsrp43) with both cpSRP43 diploid alleles modified to encode non‐functional polypeptides and (ii) a transformant (STR30309) with a 3 nt in‐frame insertion in one allele at the CAS9 cut site (non‐functional second allele), leading to expression of a modified cpSRP43. STR30309 has more chlorophyll than Δsrp43 but substantially less than wild type. To further decrease light absorption by photosystem I in STR30309, CAS9 editing was used to stack in disruptions of both LHCA6 and LHCA7 to generate STR30843, which has higher (5–24%) productivities relative to wild type in solar‐simulating bioreactors. Maximal productivities required frequent partial harvests throughout the day. For STR30843, exemplary diel bioreactor yields of ~50 g m−2 day−1 were attained. Our results demonstrate diel productivity gains in P. celeri by lowering pigment levels.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simultaneous CAS9 editing of cpSRP43, LHCA6, and LHCA7 in Picochlorum celeri lowers chlorophyll levels and improves biomass productivity

Krishnan,

Cano,

Karns

et al. 2023

Plant Direct

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“…Picochlorum celeri has been studied in outdoor pond cultivation campaigns and found to be suitable mainly for warm seasons ( Huesemann et al, 2023a ; Huesemann et al, 2023b ; Gao et al, 2023 ; McGowen et al, 2023 ). While we believe the lutein-deficient (LCYe) strain generated in this study might be of value during the summer season and should be tested for outdoor cultivation, significant limitations might arise in fluctuating light and temperature conditions, and particularly in cold weather when NPQ processes might be hampered ( Manjre et al, 2022 ), making this strain not suitable for winter cultivation in cold climates. Beyond the pigment reduction strategy explored in this work, additional improvements will be needed to increase growth rates and biomass yields to make algae a viable solution for biofuels and specialty products generation that will include genetic engineering of algal physiology and metabolic networks, strain selection as well as optimization of cultivation techniques ( Melis, Hidalgo Martinez, and Betterle, 2023 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cas9 deletion of lutein biosynthesis in the marine alga Picochlorum celeri reduces photosynthetic pigments while sustaining high biomass productivity

Cano,

Krishnan,

Karns

et al. 2024

Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.

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Domestication of algae for food and renewable biofuels remains limited by the low photosynthetic efficiencies of processes that have evolved to be competitive for optimal light capture, incentivizing the development of large antennas in light-limiting conditions, thus decreasing efficient light utilization in cultivated ponds or photobioreactors. Reducing the pigment content to improve biomass productivity has been a strategy discussed for several decades and the ability to reduce pigment significantly is now fully at hand thanks to the widespread use of genome editing tools. Picochlorum celeri is one of the fastest growing marine algae identified and holds particular promise for outdoor cultivation, especially in saline water and warm climates. We show that while chlorophyll b is essential to sustain high biomass productivities under dense cultivation, removing Picochlorum celeri’s main carotenoid, lutein, leads to a decreased total chlorophyll content, higher a/b ratio, reduced functional LHCII cross section and higher maximum quantum efficiencies at lower light intensities, resulting in an incremental increase in biomass productivity and increased PAR-to-biomass conversion efficiency. These findings further strengthen the existing strategies to improve photosynthetic efficiency and biomass production in algae.

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Year-round sustainable biomass production potential of Nannochloris sp. in outdoor raceway pond enabled through strategic photobiological screening

Paul

Gaikwad

Choudhary³

et al. 2022

Photosynth Res

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Evaluating the effect of seasonal conditions on metabolism and photosynthetic performance of Picochlorum sp. and its influence on biomass productivity

Cited by 4 publications

References 45 publications

Simultaneous CAS9 editing of cpSRP43, LHCA6, and LHCA7 in Picochlorum celeri lowers chlorophyll levels and improves biomass productivity

Simultaneous CAS9 editing of cpSRP43, LHCA6, and LHCA7 in Picochlorum celeri lowers chlorophyll levels and improves biomass productivity

Cas9 deletion of lutein biosynthesis in the marine alga Picochlorum celeri reduces photosynthetic pigments while sustaining high biomass productivity

Year-round sustainable biomass production potential of Nannochloris sp. in outdoor raceway pond enabled through strategic photobiological screening

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