Enhancing Photosynthetic Capacity of Euglena gracilis through Genetic Modification

Microalgae have recently been attracting attention for the production of biofuels. Euglena gracilisa is a potential feedstock because it can produce large amounts of wax esters from paramylon, a storage polysaccharide. Thus, enhancing the amount of paramylon through genetic engineering should increase wax ester production.

Masahiro Tamoi of Kinki University in Japan expressed the FBP/SBPase from cyanobacteria in transgenic Euglena (EpFS) to enhance its photosynthetic activity. The photosynthetic activity of EpFS4 cells was significantly higher than that of the wild types under high light and high CO₂, resulting in enhanced accumulation of paramylon. When placed under anaerobiosis, the transgenic lines produced wax esters approximately significantly higher than wild-types.

Results indicate that biomass production in E. gracilis can be improved by genetic modification. This is the first step in using E. gracilis as a source for biofuel production.