Advances in algal lipid metabolism and their use to improve oil content

Microalgae are eukaryotic photosynthetic micro-organisms that convert CO₂ into carbohydrates, lipids, and other valuable metabolites. They are considered promising chassis for the production of various bioproducts, including fatty acid–derived biofuels. However, algae-based biofuels are not yet commercially available, mainly because of their low yields and high production cost. Optimizing strains to improve lipid productivity using the principles of synthetic biology should help move forward. This necessitates developments in the following areas: (1) identification of molecular bricks (enzymes, transcription factors, regulatory proteins etc.); (2) development of genetic tools; and (3) availability of high-throughput phenotyping methods. Here, we highlight the most recent developments in some of these areas and provide examples of the use of genome editing tools to improve oil content.