Other Genetics and Genomics Commons^™

Investigating The Role Of Micrornas In The Response To Nitrogen Deprivation In The Green Alga Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii, Adam Voshall

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Microalgae are gaining attention as a potential feedstock for the production of biodiesel, mainly derived from triacylglycerols (TAG). In many algae, TAG synthesis increases dramatically upon certain stresses but this is often accompanied by growth retardation. Rational improvements to strain productivity are limited by the scant knowledge on algal lipid metabolism and gene regulatory mechanisms. In this context, systems-level approaches aimed at understanding and modeling metabolic and regulatory networks may enable hypothesis-driven genetic engineering strategies. The green microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii accumulates significant amounts of TAGs under nutrient starvation and provides a genetically tractable model for manipulating biosynthetic pathways. In order …