Grant: Master's Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Natural products derived from plants, fungi, and bacteria are essential sources of pharmaceuticals, vitamins, and dyes, but their production often faces challenges in meeting market demands due to difficulties in isolation or synthesis. Biotechnological methods, such as heterologous expression of biosynthetic gene clusters in alternative hosts like yeast, offer potential solutions. However, yeast's inability to express complex plant and fungal enzymes necessitates exploring other hosts. Cyanidioschyzon merolae (Cm), a thermophilic red alga, emerges as a promising candidate due to its simple photosynthetic eukaryotic nature. Cm's ability to consume carbon dioxide while producing high-value compounds aligns with climate change mitigation goals. Previous studies performed by collaborators at KAUST and Arizona State University have demonstrated Cm's potential for heterologous gene expression, making it a viable host for producing natural product-sourced pharmaceuticals and biopharmaceuticals. Supply chain issues disrupt Canadians access to life-saving natural product-sourced pharmaceuticals such as those affecting the antifungal medicine and psilocybin for mental health treatment. Cm can enhance production capacities for pharmaceuticals by integrating specific gene clusters. This study aims to show that Cm is the perfect platform for producing critical components of the aforementioned compounds, improving pharmaceutical access in Canada. Key genes will be optimized for Cm expression, integrated using standard protocols I previously developed, and analyzed through various biochemical techniques. This innovative strategy promises to lower costs and prevent supply chain delays, making Cm a valuable host for sustainable and efficient drug production.