Metabolic and cellular organization in evolutionarily diverse microalgae as related to biofuels production

• Microalgae have developed diverse intracellular architectures during evolution.
• Light harvesting and photoprotective mechanisms differ amongst algae.
• A variety of arrangements for carbon fixation, flux, and storage have resulted.
• Differential compartmentation of metabolic networks should affect efficiency.
• Comparative analysis of distinct arrangements and processes will benefit biofuels.

Microalgae are among the most diverse organisms on the planet, and as a result of symbioses and evolutionary selection, the configuration of core metabolic networks is highly varied across distinct algal classes. The differences in photosynthesis, carbon fixation and processing, carbon storage, and the compartmentation of cellular and metabolic processes are substantial and likely to transcend into the efficiency of various steps involved in biofuel molecule production. By highlighting these differences, we hope to provide a framework for comparative analyses to determine the efficiency of the different arrangements or processes. This sets the stage for optimization on the based on information derived from evolutionary selection to diverse algal classes and to synthetic systems.