Project name: Nannochloropsis sp. C95

Description: Unicellular marine algae have promise in providing sustainable and scalable feedstock for the production of biofuels, although no single species has emerged as a preferred biofuel organism. Moreover, most marine algae lack adequate molecular and genetic resources, prerequisite for the rational engineering and synthetic biology of algal feedstock. Heterokonts of the genus Nannochloropsis naturally have high cellular oil content and are already in use for industrial production of high value lipid products. Genome sequences of the different species in this genus are becoming available and first success in applying reverse genetics make Nannochloropsis species attractive model to investigate the cell and molecular biology and biochemistry of this fascinating organism group. Nannochloropsis is commonly cultivated in marine fish hatcheries as live feed for rotifers and fish larvae. Due to its high content of omega-3-long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) such as eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid, it is a promising candidate for large scale production of these fatty acids. Isolates from a population of Nannochloropsis which are clearly distinct from currently recognized species are tentatively designated at the species level. These unnamed isolates have not yet been characterized using traditional methods, or the species name has not yet been validly published.

Last updated: 2012-05-25