Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 2, 2025

Genetic Modification of Cyanobacteria by Conjugation Using the CyanoGate Modular Cloning Toolkit
Published on: October 31, 2019
The synthetic future of algal genomes
Hugh D Goold1, Jeffrey L Moseley2, Kyle J Lauersen3
1New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, Orange, NSW 2800, Australia; ARC Center of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia; School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia.
Abstract:
Algae are diverse organisms with significant biotechnological potential for resource circularity. Taking inspiration from fermentative microbes, engineering algal genomes holds promise to broadly expand their application ranges. Advances in genome sequencing with improvements in DNA synthesis and delivery techniques are enabling customized molecular tool development to confer advanced traits to algae. Efforts to redesign and rebuild entire genomes to create fit-for-purpose organisms currently being explored in heterotrophic prokaryotes and eukaryotic microbes could also be applied to photosynthetic algae. Future algal genome engineering will enhance yields of native products and permit the expression of complex biochemical pathways to produce novel metabolites from sustainable inputs. We present a historical perspective on advances in engineering algae, discuss the requisite genetic traits to enable algal genome optimization, take inspiration from whole-genome engineering efforts in other microbes for algal systems, and present candidate algal species in the context of these engineering goals.
Related Concept Videos
Synthetic Biology
Golden rice
Golden rice is a genetically modified...
Genome Annotation and Assembly
The Central Dogma
RNA is the Missing Link Between DNA and Proteins
In the early 1900s, scientists discovered that DNA stores all the information needed for cellular functions and that proteins perform most of these functions. However, the mechanisms of converting genetic information into functional proteins remained unknown for many years. Initially, it was believed that a single gene is...
Next-generation Sequencing
Next-Generation Sequencing Methods
Although all next-generation methods use different technologies, they all share a set of standard features....

