FUNDAMENTAL STUDIES OF THE ALGAL LIPID TRIGGER

这个子项目是利用资源的许多研究子项目之一。 由NIH/NCRR资助的中心拨款提供。对子项目的主要支持 子项目的首席调查员可能是由其他来源提供的， 包括美国国立卫生研究院的其他来源。为子项目列出的总成本可能 表示该子项目使用的中心基础设施的估计数量， 不是由NCRR赠款提供给次级项目或次级项目工作人员的直接资金。 藻类是地球上生长最快的植物，它们与碳有关 海洋中的固存，并有可能成为一种重要的生物能源 生产生物柴油和生物喷气燃料等液体运输燃料的有机体。 将藻油转化为生物柴油需要解决大量强壮的藻类种群增长的问题，这些藻类种群产生高比例的易于收获的特定脂肪酸。目前的努力是以工程的方式进行的，忽视了发挥作用的基本生物过程。因此，有关细胞生长、产生的脂肪酸的用途和有效回收石油的重要问题一直难以解决。我们提出了一种激进的新方法，它将提供解决这些问题所需的生物学见解。我们将应用我们在细胞电生理学和成像方面的独特实验和理论专业知识，在现场询问单个细胞，以确定导致特定藻类油生长和生产的分子机制。NCXT软X射线层析成像设备是这项工作的一个至关重要的独特而强大的工具。

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. Primary support for the subproject and the subproject's principal investigator may have been provided by other sources, including other NIH sources. The Total Cost listed for the subproject likely represents the estimated amount of Center infrastructure utilized by the subproject, not direct funding provided by the NCRR grant to the subproject or subproject staff. Algae are the fastest growing plants on our planet, they are involved in carbon sequestration in the oceans and have the potential to become an important bioenergy production organism for liquid transportation fuels such as biodiesel and bioJet fuel. Transforming algal oil into biodiesel requires solving the problems of growing large robust algae populations that produce high fractions of easily-harvested specific fatty acids. Current efforts proceed in engineering fashion, ignoring the fundamental biological processes in play. As a consequence, important issues regarding cell growth, utility of the fatty acids produced, and efficient oil recovery have been difficult to resolve. We propose a radical new approach that will provide the biological insight needed to solve these issues. We will apply our unique experimental and theoretical expertise in cell electrophysiology and imaging to interrogate individual cells in situ to identify molecular mechanisms leading to growth and production of specific algal oils of interest. The NCXT soft X-ray tomography facility is a vital uniquely powerful tool for this work.