Combinatorial metabolic engineering platform for the production of valuable compounds in the alga Euglena gracilis

Euglena gracilis is a unicellular alga that can be found in freshwater pools all over the world and has many unique features not found in other algae. They can be grown in wastewater and produce a broad range of compounds including antioxidants, vitamins and polyunsaturated fatty acids. It is currently being used to study nanoparticle toxicity and production, biofuel manufacture and are scheduled to be sent into space as part of the Eu:CROPIS mission into sustainable living on Mars and the Moon. Due to the complex metabolism and ease of growth, there is a large and un-explored capacity for making desirable biomolecules in Euglena utilising the diverse array of molecular building blocks already present in their cells.
Building on the recent demonstration of nuclear transformation of Euglena, in this rotation project the student will develop a reliable and easy to use synthetic biology toolkit for the genetic manipulation of Euglena gracilis. This will use combinatorial parts assembly to assess natural genetic control elements, including various promoters and insertion sites, for the expression of reporter genes, including antibiotic resistance and GFP.
The student will gain training in cell culture, synthetic biology and genetic engineering.