Microalgae as bioreactors for production of proteins

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Microalgae as bioreactors - from Journal Plant Cell Reports
Publisher Springer Berlin / Heidelberg
ISSN 0721-7714 (Print) 1432-203X (Online)
Subject Biomedical and Life Sciences
Issue Volume 24, Number 11 / December, 2005
Category Review
DOI 10.1007/s00299-005-0004-6
Pages 629-641
SpringerLink Date Thursday, September 01, 2005

You can buy this report from SpringerLink here

Tara L. Walker1, Saul Purton2, Douglas K. Becker1 and Chris Collet1

(1) Cluster for Molecular Biotechnology, Science Research Centre and CRC for Diagnostics, Queensland University of Technology, GPO Box 2434, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 4000
(2) Department of Biology, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom

Communicated by P.P. Kumar

Abstract

Microalgae already serve as a major natural source of valuable macromolecules including carotenoids, long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids and phycocolloids. As photoautotrophs, their simple growth requirements make these primitive plants potentially attractive bioreactor systems for the production of high-value heterologous proteins. The difficulty of producing stable transformants has meant that the field of transgenic microalgae is still in its infancy. Nonetheless, several species can now be routinely transformed and algal biotechnology companies have begun to explore the possibilities of synthesizing recombinant therapeutic proteins in microalgae and the engineering of metabolic pathways to produce increased levels of desirable compounds. In this review, we compare the current commercially viable bioreactor systems, outline recent progress in microalgal biotechnology and transformation, and discuss the potential of microalgae as bioreactors for the production of heterologous proteins.

Chris Collet
Email: [c].[collet]@[qut].[edu].[au] (remove the [] to get the email address!)
Phone: +617-38645173
Fax: +617-38641534

Source: Springer Link

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