ArticlePlant physiology2016
Microalgae Synthesize Hydrocarbons from Long-Chain Fatty Acids via a Light-Dependent Pathway.
Article in Plant physiology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers.
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Who cites it
42 citing papers in PubMed, 144 citations in OpenAlex.
- Brown algae produce hydrocarbons via fatty acid photodecarboxylase-dependent and fatty acid photodecarboxylase-independent pathways.Plant physiology · 2026Article
- The algal homolog of the plant CER1 and CER3 proteins is a bifunctional hydrocarbon-forming enzyme.The New phytologist · 2026Article
- Acyl CoA reductases useful for bioproduction of hydrocarbons.Microbial cell factories · 2026Article
- Article
- Establishing the Fatty Acid PhotodecarboxylaseACS catalysis · 2026Article
- Review
- Taxonomic distribution of alkane synthesizing aldehyde dehydrogenases across bacteria, fungi, plants, and animals.Biotechnology for biofuels and bioproducts · 2025Article
- Directed evolution of hydrocarbon-producing enzymes.Biotechnology for biofuels and bioproducts · 2025Review
- Photoenzymatic Decarboxylation to Produce Hydrocarbon Fuels: A Critical Review.Molecular biotechnology · 2025Review
- Pathway elucidation and heterologous reconstitution of the long-chain alkane pentadecane biosynthesis from Pogostemon cablin.Plant biotechnology journal · 2025Article
- Cavity-Based Discovery of New Fatty Acid Photodecarboxylases.Chembiochem : a European journal of chemical biology · 2024Article
- Absence of alka(e)nes triggers profound remodeling of glycerolipid and carotenoid composition in cyanobacteria membrane.Plant physiology · 2024Article
- A Holistic Approach to Circular Bioeconomy Through the Sustainable Utilization of Microalgal Biomass for Biofuel and Other Value-Added Products.Microbial ecology · 2024Review
- Genomic insights into cryptic cycles of microbial hydrocarbon production and degradation in contiguous freshwater and marine microbiomes.Microbiome · 2023Article
- Autocatalytic effect boosts the production of medium-chain hydrocarbons by fatty acid photodecarboxylase.Science advances · 2023Article
- Pushing the limits of flash photolysis to unravel the secrets of biological electron and proton transfer.Photochemical & photobiological sciences : Official journal of the European Photochemistry Association and the European Society for Photobiology · 2022Article
- Soil and Vegetation Development on Coal-Waste Dump in Southern Poland.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Pb(II)-phycoremediation mechanism usingHeliyon · 2022Article
- Salt induced oxidative stress alters physiological, biochemical and metabolomic responses of green microalgaHeliyon · 2022Article
- Ecological Interactions of Cyanobacteria and Heterotrophs Enhances the Robustness of Cyanobacterial Consortium for Carbon Sequestration.Frontiers in microbiology · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Microalgae are considered a promising platform for the production of lipid-based biofuels. While oil accumulation pathways are intensively researched, the possible existence of a microalgal pathways converting fatty acids into alka(e)nes has received little attention. Here, we provide evidence that such a pathway occurs in several microalgal species from the green and the red lineages. In Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (Chlorophyceae), a C17 alkene, n-heptadecene, was detected in the cell pellet and the headspace of liquid cultures. The Chlamydomonas alkene was identified as 7-heptadecene, an isomer likely formed by decarboxylation of cis-vaccenic acid. Accordingly, incubation of intact Chlamydomonas cells with per-deuterated D31-16:0 (palmitic) acid yielded D31-18:0 (stearic) acid, D29-18:1 (oleic and cis-vaccenic) acids, and D29-heptadecene. These findings showed that loss of the carboxyl group of a C18 monounsaturated fatty acid lead to heptadecene formation. Amount of 7-heptadecene varied with growth phase and temperature and was strictly dependent on light but was not affected by an inhibitor of photosystem II. Cell fractionation showed that approximately 80% of the alkene is localized in the chloroplast. Heptadecane, pentadecane, as well as 7- and 8-heptadecene were detected in Chlorella variabilis NC64A (Trebouxiophyceae) and several Nannochloropsis species (Eustigmatophyceae). In contrast, Ostreococcus tauri (Mamiellophyceae) and the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum produced C21 hexaene, without detectable C15-C19 hydrocarbons. Interestingly, no homologs of known hydrocarbon biosynthesis genes were found in the Nannochloropsis, Chlorella, or Chlamydomonas genomes. This work thus demonstrates that microalgae have the ability to convert C16 and C18 fatty acids into alka(e)nes by a new, light-dependent pathway.
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