(668a) A Model Algae Strain Extracellular Sugars: Genome Sequencing and Transcriptomic Analysis

Microalgae are viewed as a next generation biofuel platform. This perception is based upon rapid rates of growth, an ability to grow under a wide range of condition, and the production of a variety of different bioproducts, including lipids, proteins and carbohydrates from various microalgae species. A great deal of interest has centered on the production of lipids which could be converted into biodiesel, while the use of starch has been utilized to produce products such as ethanol in certain species. Microalgae have also been reported to produce extracellular carbohydrates, including complex polysaccharides as well as simple sugars such as glucose and maltose. Our laboratory has been studying the production of these simple sugars by a specific strain of Chlorella which was isolated from a symbiotic relationship with Paramecium bursaria. The Chlorella strain has been cultivated independently for several decades now, and continues to produce extracellular sugars under certain growth conditions. We have recently sequenced two strains of Chlorella species, and have completed RNA-Seq analysis of the expression profiles of this strain during growth conditions that produce sugars versus those that do not to compare the transcriptome and elucidate potential pathways toward extracellular sugar production. Results from these studies will be presented.