About this Research Topic
Microalgae are a class of aquatic microorganisms with photosynthetic capacity. Similar to plants, they can convert CO2 into biomass, and compared to other microorganisms, they have very short generation times under favorable conditions. These unique characteristics have long made them among the most preferred organisms of biotechnological exploration. However, though being developed for more than 80 years, microalgal biotechnology has only achieved marginal success, with not many production facilities established worldwide for the production of health food and aquaculture feed and only contributing a small fraction of industrial biotechnology. To fully release the biotechnological potentials of this kind of microorganisms, scientists and engineers in the field have been extensively applying genetic engineering approaches including related omics (proteomics, metabolomics, etc.) to microalgal species for applications in food, energy, health, and environment.
The emergence of genetic engineering in the early 1970s has revolutionized industrial sectors of biotechnology, healthcare, agriculture, etc. Compared to that of plants, genetic modification of microalgae can be easier because they are mostly single-cell organisms and have a much shorter doubling time, and the advancement of genetic engineering technologies and related ' -omics' over the past decades has granted microalgae more promising applications. Some species of microalgae have long been produced and consumed as food, and if the photosynthetic efficiency of microalgae can be improved by genetic engineering, they might become a very competitive source of food ingredients for humans and animals in large quantities. Microalgae have also been investigated to produce biofuels, pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, etc., the processes for which rely to a considerable extent on genetically modified species. Environmental applications of microalgae include CO2 sequestration, wastewater treatment, bioremediation, etc., which may also entail genetic engineering improvement approaches to make affordable processes. We intend to identify the most practical processes with foreseeable future and technology trends with great potential among these research works and publish them together in this article collection.
This Research Topic aims to collect original research articles, mini-reviews, reviews, method articles, technology reports, perspective, and opinion articles covering recent advances in genetic engineering and related -omics of microalgae across areas such as, but not limited to :
• Feed and food production
• Biofuel production
• Production of nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals
• Environmental applications (CO2 sequestration, waste-water treatment, bioremediation_)
• Improving photosynthetic efficiency
• Specific molecular tools of genetic engineering developed for microalgae
• Novel strategies of genetic engineering applied to microalgae
Dr. Jian Li is a founding partner of Panzhihua Gesala Biotechnology Inc. which works on astaxanthin production from microalgae. He also holds patent applications in the field of microalgae related to astaxanthin production from microalgae. The Topic Editors declare no competing interests in relation to the Research Topic..
The emergence of genetic engineering in the early 1970s has revolutionized industrial sectors of biotechnology, healthcare, agriculture, etc. Compared to that of plants, genetic modification of microalgae can be easier because they are mostly single-cell organisms and have a much shorter doubling time, and the advancement of genetic engineering technologies and related ' -omics' over the past decades has granted microalgae more promising applications. Some species of microalgae have long been produced and consumed as food, and if the photosynthetic efficiency of microalgae can be improved by genetic engineering, they might become a very competitive source of food ingredients for humans and animals in large quantities. Microalgae have also been investigated to produce biofuels, pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, etc., the processes for which rely to a considerable extent on genetically modified species. Environmental applications of microalgae include CO2 sequestration, wastewater treatment, bioremediation, etc., which may also entail genetic engineering improvement approaches to make affordable processes. We intend to identify the most practical processes with foreseeable future and technology trends with great potential among these research works and publish them together in this article collection.
This Research Topic aims to collect original research articles, mini-reviews, reviews, method articles, technology reports, perspective, and opinion articles covering recent advances in genetic engineering and related -omics of microalgae across areas such as, but not limited to :
• Feed and food production
• Biofuel production
• Production of nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals
• Environmental applications (CO2 sequestration, waste-water treatment, bioremediation_)
• Improving photosynthetic efficiency
• Specific molecular tools of genetic engineering developed for microalgae
• Novel strategies of genetic engineering applied to microalgae
Dr. Jian Li is a founding partner of Panzhihua Gesala Biotechnology Inc. which works on astaxanthin production from microalgae. He also holds patent applications in the field of microalgae related to astaxanthin production from microalgae. The Topic Editors declare no competing interests in relation to the Research Topic..
Keywords: microalgae, genetic engineering, biofuel production, CO2 sequestration, photosynthesis, waste water treatment, food production, human health
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