Metabolic pathway of model algae mapped at genome-scale
In New York, researchers at New York University, the University of Virginia, Harvard, UCSD and other institutions have completed the first genome-scale reconstruction of a microalgal metabolic network. Their paper was published this week in Molecular Systems Biology.
Integrating biological and optical data, and the model alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, the researchers reconstructed a genome-scale metabolic network for this alga and devised a novel light-modeling approach that enables quantitative growth prediction for a given light source, resolving wavelength and photon flux.
The researchers said that “the network offers insight into algal metabolism and potential for genetic engineering and efficient light source design, a pioneering resource for studying light-driven metabolism and quantitative systems biology.”
“We think this work can pave the way for non-incremental advances in algal research in areas of biofuel strain optimization, nutraceutical applications, as well as in basic algal research,” added researcher Kourosh Salehi-Ashtiani.
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Category: Research
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