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Lipids in Plant and Algae Development pp 179–205Cite as

Triacylglycerol Accumulation in Photosynthetic Cells in Plants and Algae

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Part of the book series: Subcellular Biochemistry ((SCBI,volume 86))

Abstract

Plant and algal oils are some of the most energy-dense renewable compounds provided by nature. Triacylglycerols (TAGs) are the major constituent of plant oils, which can be converted into fatty acid methyl esters commonly known as biodiesel. As one of the most efficient producers of TAGs, photosynthetic microalgae have attracted substantial interest for renewable fuel production. Currently, the big challenge of microalgae based TAGs for biofuels is their high cost compared to fossil fuels. A conundrum is that microalgae accumulate large amounts of TAGs only during stress conditions such as nutrient deprivation and temperature stress, which inevitably will inhibit growth. Thus, a better understanding of why and how microalgae induce TAG biosynthesis under stress conditions would allow the development of engineered microalgae with increased TAG production during conditions optimal for growth. Land plants also synthesize TAGs during stresses and we will compare new findings on environmental stress-induced TAG accumulation in plants and microalgae especially in the well-characterized model alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and a biotechnologically relevant genus Nannochloropsis.

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Acknowledgments

Work on lipid and TAG metabolism in the Benning lab has been supported by grants from the Center for Advanced Biofuels Systems (CABS), an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences under award number DE-SC0001295, the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences Grant DE-FG02-98ER20305, the US National Science Foundation, MCB 0741395 and MCB-1515169, the US Department of Energy-Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center Cooperative Agreement DE-FC02-07ER64494, the US Air Force Office of Scientific Research, FA9550-11-1-0264, and Michigan State University AgBioResearch.

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  1. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA

    Zhi-Yan Du & Christoph Benning

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  1. Zhi-Yan Du
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Correspondence to Christoph Benning .

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  1. Academia Sinica, Institute of Plant and Microbial Bi, Taipei, Taiwan

    Yuki Nakamura

  2. Institut de Biologie Environnementale et, Université Aix Marseille, Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, Bouches-du-Rhône, France

    Yonghua Li-Beisson

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Du, ZY., Benning, C. (2016). Triacylglycerol Accumulation in Photosynthetic Cells in Plants and Algae. In: Nakamura, Y., Li-Beisson, Y. (eds) Lipids in Plant and Algae Development. Subcellular Biochemistry, vol 86. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-25979-6_8

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