Phycobiliproteins from extreme environments and their potential applications

Puzorjov, Anton; McCormick, Alistair J.

doi:10.1093/jxb/eraa139

Cited by 39 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 169 publications

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“…A renewed attention has been focused on organisms from extreme environments [ 93 , 94 ]. This is particularly true for microalgae, which show a wide range survival capabilities under extreme and stress conditions, namely hypersalinity, high and low temperatures or toxic heavy metals levels [ 94 , 95 , 96 , 97 ]. The use of extremophilic microalgae showed notable benefits for various applications [ 93 , 98 ].…”

Section: Extremophilic Microalgae As Bioreactorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advanced Applications for Protein and Compounds from Microalgae

Castiglia¹,

Landi

Esposito

2021

Plants

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Algal species still show unrevealed and unexplored potentiality for the identification of new compounds. Photosynthetic organisms represent a valuable resource to exploit and sustain the urgent need of sustainable and green technologies. Particularly, unconventional organisms from extreme environments could hide properties to be employed in a wide range of biotechnology applications, due to their peculiar alleles, proteins, and molecules. In this review we report a detailed dissection about the latest and advanced applications of protein derived from algae. Furthermore, the innovative use of modified algae as bio-reactors to generate proteins or bioactive compounds was discussed. The latest progress about pharmaceutical applications, including the possibility to obtain drugs to counteract virus (as SARS-CoV-2) were also examined. The last paragraph will survey recent cases of the utilization of extremophiles as bio-factories for specific protein and molecule production.

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Section: Extremophilic Microalgae As Bioreactorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advanced Applications for Protein and Compounds from Microalgae

Castiglia¹,

Landi

Esposito

2021

Plants

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“…Most pigments are highly bioactive, and so they can act on living tissue or cells. This characteristic explains their numerous applications [11,12], being employed besides as dyestuff, as food and animal feed additives [10,13,14]. A few carotenoids have been recognized for their health-benefits, among them β-carotene and lycopene [15], while more than eight hundred of carotenoids have been described so far [9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this context, natural bioactive compounds from photosynthetic organisms, such as higher plants, micro- or macro-algae, are possible ingredients for skin protection medicaments [ 2 ]. Among the phytochemicals involved in light energy-related biological processes—from photosynthesis to vision—pigments are represented by different families, such as chlorophylls, carotenoids, or phycobiliproteins [ 8 , 9 , 10 ]. Most pigments are highly bioactive, and so they can act on living tissue or cells.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

MMP-9 and IL-1β as Targets for Diatoxanthin and Related Microalgal Pigments: Potential Chemopreventive and Photoprotective Agents

et al. 2021

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Photochemoprevention can be a valuable approach to counteract the damaging effects of environmental stressors (e.g., UV radiations) on the skin. Pigments are bioactive molecules, greatly attractive for biotechnological purposes, and with promising applications for human health. In this context, marine microalgae are a valuable alternative and eco-sustainable source of pigments that still need to be taken advantage of. In this study, a comparative in vitro photochemopreventive effects of twenty marine pigments on carcinogenic melanoma model cell B16F0 from UV-induced injury was setup. Pigment modulation of the intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) concentration and extracellular release of nitric oxide (NO) was investigated. At the cell signaling level, interleukin 1-β (IL-1β) and matrix metallopeptidase 9 protein (MMP-9) protein expression was examined. These processes are known to be involved in the signaling pathway, from UV stress to cancer induction. Diatoxanthin resulted the best performing pigment in lowering MMP-9 levels and was able to strongly lower IL-1β. This study highlights the pronounced bioactivity of the exclusively aquatic carotenoid diatoxanthin, among the others. It is suggested increasing research efforts on this molecule, emphasizing that a deeper integration of plant ecophysiological studies into a biotechnological context could improve the exploration and exploitation of bioactive natural products.

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“…Nevertheless, the commercial applications of PC are currently limited to specific applications in the food industry due to its narrow temperature stability range ( Puzorjov and McCormick, 2020 ). PC is harvested primarily from the mesophilic cyanobacterium Arthrospira platensis (a GRAS-approved species, commonly known as Spirulina), which grows optimally at 20–35 °C ( Colla et al, 2007 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Production of thermostable phycocyanin in a mesophilic cyanobacterium

Puzorjov

Dunn

McCormick

2021

Metabolic Engineering Communications

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Phycocyanin (PC) is a soluble phycobiliprotein found within the light-harvesting phycobilisome complex of cyanobacteria and red algae, and is considered a high-value product due to its brilliant blue colour and fluorescent properties. However, commercially available PC has a relatively low temperature stability. Thermophilic species produce more thermostable variants of PC, but are challenging and energetically expensive to cultivate. Here, we show that the PC operon from the thermophilic cyanobacterium Thermosynechococcus elongatus BP-1 ( cpcBACD ) is functional in the mesophile Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. Expression of cpcBACD in an ‘Olive’ mutant strain of Synechocystis lacking endogenous PC resulted in high yields of thermostable PC (112 ± 1 mg g −1 DW) comparable to that of endogenous PC in wild-type cells. Heterologous PC also improved the growth of the Olive mutant, which was further supported by evidence of a functional interaction with the endogenous allophycocyanin core of the phycobilisome complex. The thermostability properties of the heterologous PC were comparable to those of PC from T. elongatus , and could be purified from the Olive mutant using a low-cost heat treatment method. Finally, we developed a scalable model to calculate the energetic benefits of producing PC from T. elongatus in Synechocystis cultures. Our model showed that the higher yields and lower cultivation temperatures of Synechocystis resulted in a 3.5-fold increase in energy efficiency compared to T. elongatus , indicating that producing thermostable PC in non-native hosts is a cost-effective strategy for scaling to commercial production.

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Phycobiliproteins from extreme environments and their potential applications

Cited by 39 publications

References 169 publications

Advanced Applications for Protein and Compounds from Microalgae

Advanced Applications for Protein and Compounds from Microalgae

MMP-9 and IL-1β as Targets for Diatoxanthin and Related Microalgal Pigments: Potential Chemopreventive and Photoprotective Agents

Production of thermostable phycocyanin in a mesophilic cyanobacterium

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