Analysis of the effects of salt stress in biomass formation in the microalgae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and the further alterations in the profile of chromatin binding proteins

• Grant number: 18/13276-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2018
• End date: July 31, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biochemistry - Molecular Biology
• Principal Investigator: Flavia Vischi Winck
• Grantee: Larissa Lotti Oliveira
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 16/06601-4 - Integrative systems approach for the study of gene expression regulatory networks related to biomass production in microalgae, AP.BIOEN.JP

Abstract

The current social-environmental scenario, requires for new alternatives for the development of renewable energy sources and production of high value compounds using renewable biomass and clean technologies. In this context, the photosynthetic microalgae emerge as promising organisms capable of couple environmental bioremediation with bioprocesses for generating high value market products, such as biofuels and dyes. However, the study and application of microalgae in industrial scale is still at the beginning, needing significant advancement in the knowledge of the microalgae biology for allowing its use in biotechnological applications. Previous studies indicated that microalgae can have it biomass and in some cases, its lipids content enhanced in low salt stress conditions. However, detailed molecular studies about the regulation of this process are still lacking. We, therefore, want to better understand the molecular physiology of these microalgae under salt stress for the identification of variations in the biomass composition and in the profile of proteins bound to chromatin that may be related to the control of the cellular response under these conditions.