Strain development for renewable products using Nannochloropsis

Aurora Algae has developed an effective algae production platform for a variety of important renewable products using the microalga Nannochloropsis grown phototrophically on arid land using sunlight, seawater, nutrients and CO2. These include the omega-3 fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), recognized for its health improving properties, as well as other nutritional and pharmaceutical ingredients and biofuels. Aurora Algae’s proprietary strains have been engineered for various trait enhancements, including higher productivity, improved stress tolerance, and optimized fatty acid profiles. For efficient and targeted strain engineering we developed molecular tools such as a highly efficient transformation method, expression vectors, molecular tools using homologous recombination, and automated high-throughput screening systems.  Here, we present examples how we utilized these methods in order to obtain strains with improved properties.