Mapstone, Lydia;
(2022)
Genetic Engineering and cultivation of Limnospira fusiformis (Spirulina) for applications on Earth and Mars.
Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
Spirulina (Limnospira fusiformis) is an edible filamentous cyanobacterium with 'superfood' status. Spirulina powder can be used a food supplement, providing essential amino and polyunsaturated fatty acids, minerals and vitamins. In >25 clinical trials, Spirulina consumption has reduced the incidence of diabetes, hypertension, and improves immune system functions. Spirulina′s range of health applications, cheap minimal growth medium and fast growth rate compared to conventional crops make it an ideal candidate for supplementing astronaut diets and eventually providing long-term food supply if cultivated on Mars. However, despite being an attractive starting point for a range of applications, more traits could be added to enhance Spirulina uptake and usefulness further; including flavour improvement, enhancing its therapeutic abilities or nutritional enrichment. A major barrier to strain improvement is the lack of a routine system for Spirulina transformation. My project set out to 1: produce a system to enable precise changes to Spirulina′s genome and targeted introduction of novel genes, 2: add new useful traits to Spirulina utilising this technique. To address 1, a system utilising homologous recombination was developed and successfully demonstrated as a method for inserting transgenes into Spirulina. Antibiotic resistant gene ble and reporter mVenus showed the functionality of this approach. To address 2: genes mneI, encoding a super-sweet protein and pth, encoding osteoporosis drug Human Parathyroid Hormone, were introduced to produce organoleptic and therapeutic traits. Finally, testing Spirulina′s capabilities to be grown with minimal energy requirements will be essential to determine the practicality of using Spirulina strains for Earth and/or space applications. Therefore, the final objective was 3: investigate Spirulina cultivation with the resources available on a Mars base. Comprehensive Spirulina cultivation experiments using different lighting settings and media produced from Martian regolith and urine was explored. Spirulina could successfully grow on urine media, and does not require blue lighting for biomass production.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | Ph.D |
| Title: | Genetic Engineering and cultivation of Limnospira fusiformis (Spirulina) for applications on Earth and Mars |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2022. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| UCL classification: | UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > MAPS Faculty Office UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10154728 |
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