Heterotrophic microalgae expressing invertase
AssigneeSolazyme, Inc.
InventorsDonald E. Trimbur, Chung-Soon Im, Harrison F. Dillon, Anthony G. Day, Scott Franklin, Anna Coragliotti
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Abstract
The invention provides methods of manufacturing oils and oil-based products such as transportation fuels, industrial chemicals, lubricants and plastics using sugar cane, sugar cane juice, corn steep liquor, corn starch or depolymerized cellulosic material as a feedstock for bioproduction processes. Oils are manufactured using microalgae expressing sucrose invertase, which allows the microalgae to produce oil using sucrose-based feedstocks, along or in combination with other feedstocks.
Claims35
A composition comprising microalgae grown under heterotrophic conditions, wherein the microalgae comprise an exogenous sucrose invertase gene that is codon-optimized for expression in Chlorella protothecoides.
A method of producing a composition comprising microalgal biomass, wherein the method comprises the steps of:
- (a) providing a microalgal cell capable of heterotrophic growth on sucrose as a sole carbon source by virtue of an active sucrose invertase gene codon optimized for expression in Chlorella protothecoides;
- (b) placing the microalgal cell in a culture medium comprising at least one fixed carbon source;
- and
- (c) culturing the microalgal cell under heterotrophic growth conditions until the microalgal cell comprises at least 40% of its dry cell weight as lipid.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.