Model directed phycocyanin over-production in blooming algal cell-factories

调节光合微生物的代谢表达提供了直接从阳光、水和二氧化碳生产高价值化学品的可能性。尽管有大量的表型和分子信息，只有少数蓝藻分离株已发展成易于处理的遗传系统与相关的基因组规模的代谢模型。这限制了可用作平台化学品生产者的菌株的数量。AlgaBloom International是一家位于温哥华的生物技术公司，专门从事生物反应器设计和蓝藻细胞生长，有兴趣开发其特定的螺旋藻菌株，优化高生长产量，作为平台化学品生产商，以扩大其市场范围和盈利能力。该项目利用基因组规模的代谢模拟技术和受控的实验室生长实验，旨在通过螺旋藻中所需的生物合成途径重新引导代谢物流动。在该项目的这一阶段，我们将特别关注基因组测序和藻蓝蛋白（一种有价值的光合色素，在食品、医疗和仪器行业有多种应用）的定向过量生产模型。预测的过量生产表型将在实验室和中试规模进行测试，并将为AlgaBloom开发优化的藻蓝蛋白提取和纯化方案。

Regulating the metabolic expression of photosynthetic microorganisms offers the possibility of producinghigh-value chemicals directly from sunlight, water and carbon dioxide. Despite a plethora of phenotypic andmolecular information, only a few cyanobacterial isolates have been developed into tractable genetic systemswith associated genome-scale metabolic models. This limits the number of strains that can be used as platformchemical producers. AlgaBloom International, a Vancouver-based biotech company specializing in bioreactordesign and cynaobacterial cell growth, is interested in developing their specific strain of Spirulina, optimizedfor high growth yields, as a platform chemical producer to extend their market range and profitability. Throughthe application of genome-scale metabolic modeling techniques and controlled laboratory growth experiments,this project aims to redirect metabolite flow through desired biosynthetic pathways in Spirulina. During thisphase of the project we will specifically focus on genome sequencing and model directed over-production ofphycocyanin, a valuable photosynthetic pigment with multiple applications in the food, medical andinstrumentation industries. Predicted overproduction phenotypes will be tested at both bench- and pilot-scalesand an optimized phycocyanin extraction and purification protocol will be developed for AlgaBloom.