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Marine Drugs
Special Issues
Metabolic Engineering Strategy for Producing High-Value Products in Microalgae
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Metabolic Engineering Strategy for Producing High-Value Products in Microalgae

A special issue of Marine Drugs (ISSN 1660-3397). This special issue belongs to the section "Marine Biotechnology Related to Drug Discovery or Production".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 1741

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Han Sun

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Resources and Environment, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China
Interests: high-density cultivation of microalgae; metabolic engineering of microalgae; microalgal biorefining
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Shufang Yang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Discipline of Chinese and Western Integrative Medicine, Jiangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanchang 330004, China
Interests: microalgal functional foods; stabilization technology; food ingredients

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

High-value products derived from microalgae have garnered considerable attention as valuable resources for drugs, functional foods, and cosmetics. Several microalgae species have been identified as rich sources of bioactive compounds, including the Chlorophyceae Dunaliella, the dinoflagellate Crypthecodinium cohnii, and the Bacillariophyta Phaeodactylum and Nitzschia.

Metabolic engineering strategies are efficient in optimizing biochemical pathways for the enhanced production of high-value compounds in microalgae cultivation. These approaches leverage genetic and biochemical tools to manipulate metabolic fluxes and improve the yields of target products, such as omega-3 fatty acids and pigments, thereby advancing their biotechnological potential for sustainable productions.

For this Special Issue, we invite academic and industry scientists to submit reviews and original and conceptual research articles focusing on the application of diverse metabolic engineering strategies for producing high-value products from microalgae, alongside the analysis and clarification of their biosynthetic pathways.

Dr. Han Sun
Dr. Shufang Yang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Marine Drugs is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • metabolic engineering
  • high-value product
  • cell factory
  • synthetic biology
  • omics analysis
  • microalgae

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 1314 KiB  
Article
Nutritional Value and Productivity Potential of the Marine Microalgae Nitzschia laevis, Phaeodactylum tricornutum and Isochrysis galbana
by Xue Lu, Shufang Yang, Yongjin He, Weixuan Zhao, Man Nie and Han Sun
Mar. Drugs 2024, 22(9), 386; https://doi.org/10.3390/md22090386 - 27 Aug 2024
Viewed by 1475
Abstract
Microalgae are considered promising sustainable feedstocks for the production of food, food additives, feeds, chemicals and various high-value products. Marine microalgae Phaeodactylum tricornutum, Isochrysis galbana and Nitzschia laevis are rich in fucoxanthin, which is effective for weight loss and metabolic diseases. The [...] Read more.
Microalgae are considered promising sustainable feedstocks for the production of food, food additives, feeds, chemicals and various high-value products. Marine microalgae Phaeodactylum tricornutum, Isochrysis galbana and Nitzschia laevis are rich in fucoxanthin, which is effective for weight loss and metabolic diseases. The selection of microalgae species with outstanding nutritional profiles is fundamental for novel foods development, and the nutritional value of P. tricornutum, I. galbana and N. laevis are not yet fully understood. Hence, this study investigates and analyzes the nutritional components of the microalgae by chromatography and mass spectrometry, to explore their nutritional and industrial application potential. The results indicate that the three microalgae possess high nutritional value. Among them, P. tricornutum shows significantly higher levels of proteins (43.29%) and amino acids, while I. galbana has the highest content of carbohydrates (25.40%) and lipids (10.95%). Notwithstanding that P. tricornutum and I. galbana have higher fucoxanthin contents, N. laevis achieves the highest fucoxanthin productivity (6.21 mg/L/day) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) productivity (26.13 mg/L/day) because of the competitive cell density (2.89 g/L) and the advantageous specific growth rate (0.42/day). Thus, compared with P. tricornutum and I. galbana, N. laevis is a more promising candidate for co-production of fucoxanthin and PUFAs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metabolic Engineering Strategy for Producing High-Value Products in Microalgae)
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Review

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19 pages, 1093 KiB  
Review
Harnessing Artificial Intelligence to Revolutionize Microalgae Biotechnology: Unlocking Sustainable Solutions for High-Value Compounds and Carbon Neutrality
by Yijian Wu, Lei Shan, Weixuan Zhao and Xue Lu
Mar. Drugs 2025, 23(5), 184; https://doi.org/10.3390/md23050184 - 25 Apr 2025
Viewed by 104
Abstract
Microalgae offer significant potential in diverse fields, including biofuels, carbon capture, and high-value bioproducts. However, optimizing and scaling microalgae cultivation systems present several challenges due to the dynamic interactions among environmental factors such as light intensity, temperature, pH, nutrient concentration, and CO2 [...] Read more.
Microalgae offer significant potential in diverse fields, including biofuels, carbon capture, and high-value bioproducts. However, optimizing and scaling microalgae cultivation systems present several challenges due to the dynamic interactions among environmental factors such as light intensity, temperature, pH, nutrient concentration, and CO2 levels, as well as species-specific biological variability. Recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), particularly machine learning (ML) and automation, have provided innovative solutions to these challenges. This review explored the role of AI in enhancing microalgae technology, focusing on optimizing cultivation conditions, improving CO2 capture, maximizing biomass production, and automating system processes. Key case studies highlight successful applications of AI in biofuel production, carbon capture projects, and high-value compound manufacturing. Key case studies demonstrate that AI-driven models can increase biomass productivity by up to 15–57%, improve CO2 biofixation efficiency, and enhance lipid and high-value compound yields by more than 20–43% compared to traditional methods. Additionally, we discussed the limitations of current AI models, particularly in data availability and species-specific variability, and suggested future research directions to enhance the integration of AI and microalgae systems. By leveraging AI’s potential, microalgae technologies can become more efficient, scalable, and economically viable, addressing global sustainability challenges such as energy production and climate change mitigation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metabolic Engineering Strategy for Producing High-Value Products in Microalgae)
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