Developing the Alga Euglena Gracilis as a Source of Vegan Omega Oils and Other High Value Compounds
An exciting opportunity with an industrial collaborator to gain in depth training in algal culturing and strain improvement, chemical analysis and metabolomics. Supervisors: Ellis O’Neill (University of Nottingham) and John Macdonald and Donal McGee (AlgaeCytes Limited) Omega oils or Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFAs) are deemed essential for human health; however, the human body does not naturally produce them but must get them from other food sources such as wild-catch deep sea fish or other marine animals, with a global market of almost $2 billion in 2019. Omega 3 oils in algal oil are nutritionally equivalent to fish oil and can replace oils derived from marine animals. This project will develop the use of the alga Euglena gracilis for production of these oils and investigate high value co-products to improve the economic viability of these production systems. This project is a new collaboration, combining the expertise in the O’Neill lab in algal metabolism and the translational expertise in AlgaeCytes to take the fundamental knowledge of algal metabolism to trial commercial production and evaluate the economic viability of a Euglena based vegan Omega oil. This project brings together the experience and knowledge of the O’Neill lab in growth and metabolism in Euglena and AlgaeCytes’ expertise in industrial production and exploitation of freshwater algae.
This research program will involve optimising the growth of Euglena gracilis for production of the Omega oils and analysing the co-products, followed by strain improvement, using mutagenesis and cell sorting. This will be followed by an industrial placement at AlgaeCytes’ base in Kent, optimising the growth conditions with the onsite technology and monitoring the product yields. Ellis O’Neill is a Nottingham Research Fellow in the School of Chemistry at the University of Nottingham. His research focuses on algal metabolomics, carbohydrate metabolism and cell biology. John Macdonald is Head of Laboratory at AlgaeCytes, with responsibility for project operations. He has expertise in large scale microalgal cultivation, and optimisation and production of metabolites. Donal McGee is the Senior Microalgal Scientist at AlgaeCytes, supervising a team of researchers, and is an expert in algal biodiversity, metabolism, physiology and analytical method development, This project will give the student a unique opportunity to gain experience of algal culturing and strain improvement, chemical analysis and metabolomics in an academic setting and then to apply this knowledge in an industrial setting to produce a commercial product.
Funding is available for four years from late September 2022. The award covers tuition fee (£4,567) at the home rate plus an annual stipend (£15,840) for 2022. This is set by the Research Councils. UK and international candidates are eligible to apply.