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Updated: May 20, 2026

Peptide-derived Method to Transport Genes and Proteins Across Cellular and Organellar Barriers in Plants
Published on: December 16, 2016
A molecular method for the delivery of small molecules and proteins across the cell wall of algae using molecular
Joel M Hyman1, Erika I Geihe, Brian M Trantow
1Department of Bioenergy and Structural Biology, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
Abstract:
Interest in algae has significantly accelerated with the increasing recognition of their potentially unique role in medical, materials, energy, bioremediation, and synthetic biological research. However, the introduction of tools to study, control, or expand the inner-workings of algae has lagged behind. Here we describe a general molecular method based on guanidinium-rich molecular transporters (GR-MoTrs) for bringing small and large cargos into algal cells. Significantly, this method is shown to work in wild-type algae that have an intact cell wall. Developed using Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, this method is also successful with less studied algae including Neochloris oleoabundans and Scenedesmus dimorphus thus providing a new and versatile tool for algal research.
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