r/algae • u/AccomplishedDevice73 • 8d ago

Vectors for C vulgaris

Im doing this work for uni that is like a thought in which we re going to modify it genetically so that it expresses carboxyssomes from S elongatus.It doesnt really have to work but we are having lots of trouble finding a backbone vector for it. Is there even one?

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u/supreme_harmony 8d ago

I've never done it in chlorella but I would assume you could use plasmids, no?

Random google search gave me this paper where they used electroporation and a modified pBI121 plasmid: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0717345824000071

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u/AccomplishedDevice73 8d ago

Ok that seems okay but how would we come about inserting a lot of genes as required to express carboxyssomes.In class we have only ever inserted a single gene never multiple

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u/supreme_harmony 8d ago

Plasmids are not really suited to introduce large constructs.

Inserting multiple genes and making them work in Chlorella is certainly possible, but it goes beyond a simple reddit thread. Also, note that carboxysomes are present in bacteria, not in eukaryotes.

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u/Prestigious_Money100 8d ago

All my life I thot carboxysomes were present in both microalgae and cyanobacteria lol. Seems like it's called Pyrenoids in microalgae.

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u/supreme_harmony 7d ago

Those two are different things. They have a different makeup and functions, although they both concentrate CO2. Before designing the transformation protocol you may want to plan which proteins you wish to deliver and why.