Starch Metabolism in Algae

Dear Colleagues,

Starch plays a central role in the life cycle as one of the principal sources of chemical energy. Micro and macroalgal starch, which is structurally similar to that from higher plants, can be considered a promising raw material for the production of bioethanol. It can also be combined with other polymers to produce resin compounds that are compostable and biodegradable and can be used in the production of bioplastics, biopolymers, animal feed, and co-products for the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries. The synthesis of this polysaccharide requires various enzyme isoforms for each step of the metabolic pathway. Thus, a better understanding of starch biosynthesis—in particular, the structure–function relationship and regulatory properties of the enzymes involved in its production—may provide a powerful tool for the planning of new strategies to increase algae and plant biomass, as well as to improve the quality and quantity of this polymer. This Special Issue of Plants will highlight the structural, biochemical, and functional characterization of new micro and macro algae enzymes involved in the metabolism of reserve polysaccharides; it will also focus on new biotechnological tools to modify the content and quality of starch, paramylon, and Floridean starch algae (for example, genetic transformation, genome editing through zinc-finger nucleases, transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs), or CRISPR/ Cas9) and in the applications of these polysaccharides in different industries.

Dr. Maria Victoria Busi
Dr. Julieta Barchiesi
Guest Editors

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• starch
• Floridean starch
• paramylon
• pyrenoid
• algae
• enzymes
• metabolism
• biotechnological approaches
• bioinformatics
• genome editing