EonSeon Jin

【Xanthophylls are oxygenated carotenoids that serve a variety of functions in photosynthetic organisms and are essential for survival of the organism. Within the last decade, major nor advances have been made in the elucidation of the molecular genetics and biochemistry of the xanthophyll biosynthesis pathway. Microalgae, yeast, or other microorganisms produce some of the xanthophylls that are being commercially used due to their own color and antioxidant properties. Currently, only a few microa

Lutein and zeaxanthin are dietary carotenoids reported to be protective against age-related macular degeneration. Recently, the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii has received attention as a photosynthetic cell factory, but the potential of this alga for carotenoid production has not yet been evaluated. In this study, we selected the C. reinhardtii CC-4349 strain as the best candidate among seven laboratory strains tested for carotenoid production. A knock-out mutant of the zeaxanthin epoxidas

A novel mutant (zea1) of the halotolerant unicellular green alga Dunaliella salina is impaired in the zeaxanthin epoxidation reaction, thereby lacking a number of the beta-branch xanthophylls. HPLC analysis revealed that the zea1 mutant lacks neoxanthin (N), violaxanthin (V) and antheraxanthin (A) but constitutively accumulates zeaxanthin (Z). Under low-light physiological growth conditions, the zea1 (6 mg Z per g dry weight or 8 x 10(-16) mol Z/cell) had a substantially higher Z content than th

Carbonic anhydrases convert CO₂ to bicarbonate at a high turnover rate up to 10⁶ s^-1, but their actual applications in CO₂ conversion processes are hampered by their poor stability. This study reports highly loaded and stabilized bovine carbonic anhydrase (bCA) upon being immobilized onto electrospun polymer nanofibers in the form of enzyme precipitate coating (EPC). The EPC protocol, consisting of enzyme covalent attachment, precipitation, and cross-l

CRISPR-Cas has revolutionized genetic modification with its comparative simplicity and accuracy, and it can be used even at the genomic level. Microalgae are excellent feedstocks for biofuels and nutraceuticals because they contain high levels of fatty acids, carotenoids, and other metabolites; however, genome engineering for microalgae is not yet as developed as for other model organisms. Microalgal engineering at the genetic and metabolic levels is relatively well established, and a few genomi

Unicellular green algae of the genus Haematococcus have been studied extensively as model organisms for secondary carotenoid accumulation. Upon environmental stress, such as strong irradiance or nitrogen deficiency, unicellular green algae of the genus Haematococcus accumulate secondary carotenoids in vesicles in the cytosol. Because secondary carotenoid accumulation occurs only upon specific environmental stimuli, there is speculation about the regulation of the biosynthetic pathway specific fo

<i>Chlamydomonas reinhardtii</i> is being transformed from a model organism to an industrial organism for the production of pigments, fatty acids, and pharmaceuticals. Genetic modification has been used to increase the economic value of <i>C. reinhardtii</i>. However, low gene-editing efficiency and position-effects hinder the genetic improvement of this microorganism. Recently, site-specific double-stranded DNA cleavage using CRISPR-Cas9 system has been applied to regulate a metabolic pathway i

Photosystems must balance between light harvesting to fuel the photosynthetic process for CO₂ fixation and mitigating the risk of photodamage due to absorption of light energy in excess. Eukaryotic photosynthetic organisms evolved an array of pigment-binding proteins called light harvesting complexes constituting the external antenna system in the photosystems, where both light harvesting and activation of photoprotective mechanisms occur. In this work, the balancing role of CP29 and