Draft genome sequence and detailed characterization of biofuel production by oleaginous microalga Scenedesmus quadricauda LWG002611

BACKGROUND: Due to scarcity of fossil fuel, the importance of alternative energy sources is ever increasing. The oleaginous microalgae have demonstrated their potential as an alternative source of energy, but have not achieved commercialization owing to some biological and technical inefficiency. Modern methods of recombinant strain development for improved efficacy are suffering due to inadequate knowledge of genome and limited molecular tools available for their manipulation. RESULTS: In the present study, microalga Scenedesmus quadricauda LWG002611 was selected as the preferred organism for lipid production as it contained high biomass (0.37 g L(−1) day(−1)) and lipid (102 mg L(−1) day(−1)), compared to other oleaginous algae examined in the present study as well as earlier reports. It possessed suitable biodiesel properties as per the range defined by the European biodiesel standard EN14214 and petro-diesel standard EN590:2013. To investigate the potential of S. quadricauda LWG002611 in details, the genome of the organism was assembled and annotated. This was the first genome sequencing and assembly of S. quadricauda, which predicted a genome size of 65.35 Mb with 13,514 genes identified by de novo and 16,739 genes identified by reference guided annotation. Comparative genomics revealed that it belongs to class Chlorophyceae and order Sphaeropleales. Further, small subunit ribosomal RNA gene (18S rRNA) sequencing was carried out to confirm its molecular identification. S. quadricauda LWG002611 exhibited higher number of genes related to major activities compared to other potential algae reported earlier with a total of 283 genes identified in lipid metabolism. Metabolic pathways were reconstructed and multiple gene homologs responsible for carbon fixation and triacylglycerol (TAG) biosynthesis pathway were identified to further improve this potential algal strain for biofuel production by metabolic engineering approaches. CONCLUSION: Here we present the first draft genome sequence, genetic characterization and comparative evaluation of S. quadricauda LWG002611 which exhibit high biomass as well as high lipid productivity. The knowledge of genome sequence, reconstructed metabolic pathways and identification of rate-limiting steps in TAG biosynthesis pathway will strengthen the development of molecular tools towards further improving this potentially one of the major algal strains for biofuel production. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s13068-018-1308-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.