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Systems biology characterization of Chromochloris zofingiensis
Meagher, Michelle Francis
Meagher, Michelle Francis
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2024
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2025-11-26
Abstract
Chromochloris zofingiensis is a green alga of interest for its lipid and astaxanthin production capabilities. Astaxanthin is a naturally occurring pigment in the cell that is of high value in the nutraceutical industry for its antioxidant capabilities. When grown on glucose, C. zofingiensis can perform a trophic switch from autotrophy to heterotrophy, even while under continuous illumination. During this switch, the cell begins degrading its photosynthetic apparatus, and accumulates lipids and astaxanthin. In the work presented in this dissertation, metabolic modeling techniques are applied to the growth of C. zofingiensis in different conditions to better understand the differences in carbon allocation and metabolic function of this organism that bring rise to the different phenotypes observed. A genome-scale metabolic model of this organism was created and used to conduct flux balance analysis simulations. In the heterotrophic simulation, the fermentation of glucose was predicted and later confirmed with a metabolomics analysis of spent media. Isotopically assisted metabolic flux analysis was applied to further investigate intracellular flux distributions in heterotrophic C. zofingiensis cultures with different light exposure and media formulations. Additional work has been done to optimize the growth of this organism on a larger scale in a flat panel photobioreactor using a custom-built insert to improve mixing in the vessel. In all the work presented here, chemical engineering principles are applied to model, understand, and optimize the growth and metabolic function of this unique organism.
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