Budget Amount *help |
¥4,810,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,110,000)
Fiscal Year 2019: ¥1,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥300,000)
Fiscal Year 2018: ¥1,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥300,000)
Fiscal Year 2017: ¥2,210,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥510,000)
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Outline of Final Research Achievements |
Euglena gracilis, a unicellular phytoflagellate, is a potential feedstock for renewal energy. In outdoor open-pond cultivation, the direct solar radiation decreases the productivity of this alga. Here we cloned carotenoid biosynthetic genes such as phytoene desaturase genes and ζ-carotene desaturase gene from E. gracilis, and analyzed their expression level and their physiological functions under the strong light condition using RNAi knocked down lines. This study showed that excess light-stress decreased their cell growth, and changed an accumulation of specific carotenoid species in the cells of E. gracilis as well as their change of phototaxis. We concluded that E. gracilis enhanced tolerance to the light stress by both “a rapid response for cell movement” and “a slower response for change of carotenoid metabolism” mediated by carotenoids.
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