Document Type
Article
Department
Institute for Educational Development, East Africa
Abstract
The worldwide energy demand continues to rise, while reliance on fossil fuels remains unsustainable due to global warming, declining reserves and rising oil prices. This has intensified the search for renewable alternatives. Among these, microscopic algae have emerged as a promising feedstock for third-generation biofuels. Owing to their rapid biomass productivity, high lipid content and ability to generate diverse bioproducts, microalgae offer distinct advantages over terrestrial plants. Lipids derived from algae can be converted into biodiesel, while their biomass yields valuable co-products such as carbohydrates, proteins and polyunsatu- rated fatty acids (FAs). These attributes position algae as critical contributors to the advancement of sustainable biofuels and bio-based compounds. Recent advances in clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) technology, particularly the CRISPR/Cas9 system, have opened new avenues for precise, stable and targeted genome modifications in algae. Optimising CRISPR/Cas9 tools presents opportunities to enhance lipid production, improve metabolic pathways and expand the industrial scalability of algal biofuels. However, the application of CRISPR/Cas9 to economically relevant algal species also presents unique technical and biological challenges, including species-specific transformation barriers, off-target effects and regulatory hurdles. This review synthesises the current state of CRISPR/Cas9 applications in algal biofuel research, highlighting both opportunities and limitations. In doing so, this study underlines the transformative potential of genome engineering technologies for sustainable energy production while critically evaluating the obstacles that must be addressed to realise industrial-scale implementation. By framing these challenges alongside emerging solutions, the article contributes a focused perspective on how CRISPR/Cas9 can accelerate the development of algae-based biofuels, thereby charting a path towards a greener energy future.
AKU Student
no
Publication (Name of Journal)
International Journal of Energy Research
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1155/er/2368855
Recommended Citation
Kumar, S.,
Phillips, A. J.,
Adelodun, B.,
Di Maria, F.,
Sundaramurthy, S.,
Pal, T.
(2026). Potential of CRISPR/Cas9 Genome Engineering for Biofuel Production From Economically Relevant Algae. International Journal of Energy Research, 1-20.
Available at:
https://ecommons.aku.edu/acer/55