Microalgal Biodiesel: Nutritional and Molecular Strategies for Enhanced Lipid Production

Title : Microalgal Biodiesel: Nutritional and Molecular Strategies for Enhanced Lipid Production

Abstract:

The urge for sustainable bioenergy production can be gratified through microalgae as it has come out as a promising renewable feedstock for biofuel generation. The rapid growth rate, CO2 fixation ability, flexible adaptation, and capability to grow in non-arable lands make microalgae one of the most potential feedstocks for biofuel production. However, to achieve the economic feasibility of the low-value, high-volume product, the technological challenge related to the mass production of microalgae with elevated lipid content needs to be addressed. Therefore, various strategies to augment biomass with elevated lipid production were assessed, which are vital for improving the economics of microalgae-based biofuels. To accomplish this, bioprospecting prospective algal strains (ideally from native habitats), derivation of pre-eminent nutritional parameters, and exogenous supplementation of phytohormones to regulate metabolic flux for enhanced lipid accumulation were achieved. Moreover, the molecular mechanism of lipid metabolism in response to nitrogen limitation in Desmodesmus sp. JS07, was studied by lipidomics and transcriptomic analysis. Lipidome analysis of Desmodesmus sp. JS07 exhibited a diverse spectrum of lipids, indicating 8 lipid classes and 87 lipid species consisting of polar and neutral lipids. Further, the transcriptome profiling of Desmodesmus sp. JS07 indicated the up-regulation of potential genes related to fatty acid and TAG biosynthesis. Both the analysis delivers a basis for refining our understanding of TAG synthesis, identifying the key enzymes involved in TAG production, and their overexpression in microalgae. Furthermore, the molecular modification of Desmodesmus sp. JS07 was carried out by heterologous and homologous expression of BnDGAT2 and CvGPD1constructs to augment lipid accumulation. Therefore, the present work outlines the strategies for enhanced lipid accumulation in microalgae for sustainable biofuel production.
Keywords: Biofuels; Microalgae; Lipidomics; Transcriptomics

Audience Takeaway:

• The undergraduate and postgraduate students, research scholars, faculty and researcher from academia, and scientists from research labs and industries may learn and improve their knowledge about the fundamentals and various strategies for augmentation of lipid accumulation in microalgae for sustainable biofuel production.
• Provide insight into the lipidomics, transcriptomics, and molecular modification of Desmodesmus sp. JS07 for enhanced lipid production.

Biography:

Prof. R. P. Singh has contributed over three decades of his dedicated service for research and science education. He is currently an Emeritus Professor at Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, India. Prof. Singh received his Master’s in Biochemistry from G.B. Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, India and Doctoral degree in Microbial biochemistry from Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, India. He had continued as a Research Associate at Institute of Microbial Technology, Chandigarh. Further he worked at National Institutes of Health, USA and Harvard Medical School, USA as a Visiting Fellow and as a Research Officer for more than five years. He was also a visiting faculty for a year at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, USA. His research interests primarily include enzyme engineering, biofuels, biopolymers and targeted drug delivery. He is associated with several International and National organizations mainly Process Innovation and Process Intensification Network, UK; European Federation of Biotechnology, Committees on Genetically Modified Organisms and Food, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India ; Expert Committees of Department of Science & Technology and Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India and Life Science Research Board, DRDO, Govt. of India. He is a member of editorial board of journals and had served as a reviewer for several reputed international journals. He has authored several original research articles, review papers and book chapters and has one US patent to his credit. He has supervised 20 doctoral thesis and several Master’s and Undergraduate dissertations. Prof. Singh had delivered several invited lectures and had visited countries mainly USA, UK and Germany. He has handled various research projects till date. He is life member of several scientific bodies and is on the board and committees of several institutions.