Strategies of two-stage photoautotrophic cultivation for improving carbohydrate production in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Microalgae with its relatively high starch and lipid contents represent one of the most promising non-food-crop-based feedstock for biofuels production. Most studies have focused on accumulating algal lipids for biodiesel production and some have focused on hydrogen generation to date. Little attention has been paid to converting algal carbohydrate into biofuels. Some algal species such as unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii are able to accumulate a significant amount of carbohydrates (mainly starch) which could be used as feedstock for biofuel production. In our study, a two-stage strategy was developed to improve the microalgal carbohydrate production for advanced biofuel production. In addition, an amylase producing Chlamydomonas reinhardtii was constructed which is able to facilitate self-processing hydrolysis of microalgal starch in vivo.