Algomics
"Omics of energy conversion and storage by microalgae "
Bioenergy program 2008, ANR financing for 48 months .
| Objective |
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Photosynthetic micro-organisms hold a huge potential for biofuel production (such as biohydrogen or biodiesel). Microalgae show a high surface biomass productivity and some species accumulate high amounts of reserve compounds (polysaccharides and lipids), lipid accumulation reaching up to 70% of the biomass content in some species.
The productivity of high energy compounds is however impaired by the existence of biological limitations. A major ambition of the ALGOMICS project is to develop, via a system biology-base approach, a thorough understanding of processes of energy conversion and storage, aiming at developing innovative concepts for an advanced domestication of photosynthetic solar energy conversion. The project involves a strongly integrated network of field-leading laboratories in genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, fluxomics, genetics, physiology and process engineering. A model of metabolic interactions involved in energy conversion and storage will be constructed, analyzed and further validated, using the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii as a model organism. The unravelling of key regulatory components (metabolites, proteins, genes…) controlling energy conversion and storage will be used to propose innovative strategies towards improving microalgal biofuel production. |
| Associated laboratories |
| CEA Cadarache INSA Toulouse CEA Grenoble GEPEA Nantes IBPC Paris CEA Genoscope |