The authors would like to thank Prof. Paul Hooykaas for kindly providing the pCAMBIA1302 vector and Agrobacterium tumefaciens AGL1 from the Institute of Biology Leiden, Leiden University, the Netherlands. The authors would also like to thank Eva Colic for her help in growing the fluorescent transformants. This work was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Mitacs Accelerate program.

All media and solutions must be autoclaved prior to use unless otherwise stated. All centrifuge tubes, pipette tips, etc., should be sterile or autoclaved before use. For easy reference, the media recipes used in this protocol are listed in Table 1.
1. Preparation of A. tumefaciens electrocompetent cells
<ol>
	<li>Inoculate Agrobacterium (AGL-1) into a 25 mL sterile shaker flask of LB media (supplemented with rifampicin, 20 mg/L-1) from a frozen glycerol stock and grow overnight at 28-30 &#176;C and 150 rpm. 
	&#8203;NOTE: The Agrobacterium strain AGL-1 is (see Table of Materials) resistant to rifampicin, ampicillin, chloramphenicol, and streptomycin and can be obtained from several suppliers.</li>
	<li>The following day, dilute the culture 1,00,000-fold by adding 0.5 &#181;L of the overnight culture to 50 mL autoclaved ultra-pure water and spread 10 &#181;L of this diluted culture on an LB plate, and then incubate at 28-30 &#176;C for 1-3 days.</li>
	<li>Pick a colony and start a 20 mL overnight culture in LB with rifampicin at 28-30 &#176;C.</li>
	<li>The next day, inoculate 500 mL LB media (no antibiotic) in a shaker flask with 9 mL of the overnight culture and grow at 28-30 &#176;C until the OD600 reaches 0.5.</li>
	<li>Divide the culture evenly into ten 50 mL centrifuge tubes and chill on ice for 30 min. Pre-cool the centrifuge to 4 &#176;C.</li>
	<li>Centrifuge the tubes at 4 &#176;C and 4000 x g for 15 min. Subsequently, remove as much supernatant as possible using a pipette and resuspend the pellet in each tube in 50 mL of ice-cold water.</li>
	<li>Centrifuge the cells at 4 &#176;C and 4000 x g for 15 min. Remove the supernatant and resuspend the pellet in 25 mL of ice-cold water in each tube.</li>
	<li>Centrifuge the cells at 4 &#176;C and 4000 x g for 15 min. Remove the supernatant and resuspend the pellet in 1 mL of ice-cold 10% (w/v) glycerol in each tube.</li>
	<li>Combine all tubes into one 50 mL tube and centrifuge the cells at 4 &#176;C and 4000 x g for 15 min. Remove the supernatant and resuspend the pellet in 400 &#181;L ice-cold 10% (w/v) glycerol. The cell concentration should be about 1-3 x 1010 cells/mL.</li>
	<li>Distribute the cells as 50 &#181;L aliquots in sterile prechilled microtubes. Freeze in liquid nitrogen and store in a -80 &#176;C freezer.</li>
</ol>
2. Electroporation of A. tumefaciens
<ol>
	<li>Add 50 &#181;L of AGL-1 A. tumefaciens electrocompetent cells into a prechilled 0.1 mm cuvette and add 2 &#181;L of pCAMBIA1302 or similar plasmid (conc 15 ng/&#181;L) (see Table of Materials).</li>
	<li>Electroporate at 2400 V using an electroporator (200 &#937;, capacitance extender 250 &#181;FD, capacitance 25 &#181;FD, exponential decay, see Table of Materials). The time constant should be &#62;4.5 ms for successful electroporation with exponential decay.</li>
	<li>Immediately add 1 mL of LB media to the cuvette and gently pipette up and down to mix. Transfer the 1 mL of resuspended cells into a 1.5 mL microtube and incubate it at 28-30 &#176;C for at least 1 h to recover.</li>
	<li>Plate the cells on LB agar containing the appropriate antibiotic (i.e., 50 mg/L of kanamycin for pCAMBIA1302 for prokaryotic selection).</li>
	<li>Incubate at 28-30 &#176;C for 2-3 days.</li>
	<li>Select one colony, grow overnight in LB with the appropriate selection (50 mg/L of kanamycin for pCAMBIA1302), and cryopreserve the plasmid-containing strain using 50% glycerol at -80 &#176;C for future use.</li>
</ol>
3. AMT of C. vulgaris
NOTE: Prepare C. vulgaris (UTEX 395, see Table of Materials) and A. tumefaciens cultures in parallel for co-cultivation. C. vulgaris cultures should be started 3 days before preparing A. tumefaciens cultures. Protocol was modified based on that published by Kumar et al.7.
<ol>
	<li>Prepare C. vulgaris culture
	<ol>
		<li>C. vulgaris is traditionally stored on slants or maintained in log-phase cultures in illuminated conditions. From a log phase culture at OD600 = 1.0, spread 0.5 mL onto a Tris-Acetate-Phosphate (TAP, see Table 1) agar plates (1.2% w/v agar A) and grow for 5 days at 25 &#176;C with illumination (50 &#181;E/m2s). This will yield approximately 5 x 106 cells.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Prepare A. tumefaciens culture
	<ol>
		<li>Grow A. tumefaciens AGL-1 pCAMBIA1302 strain in a shaker flask by inoculating 10 mL of LB media supplemented with 15 mM glucose, 20 mg/L&#160;rifampicin, and 50 mg/L kanamycin (see Table of Materials) using the glycerol stock. Incubate at 28-30 &#176;C and 250 rpm overnight.</li>
		<li>Inoculate 1 mL of overnight culture into 50 mL of LB with 15 mM glucose, 20 mg/L&#160;rifampicin, and 50 mg/L kanamycin and incubate at 28-30 &#176;C and 250 rpm until the OD600 reaches 1.0.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Cocultivate C. vulgaris and A. tumefaciens
	<ol>
		<li>To prepare the A. tumefaciens culture for co-cultivation, transfer the grown culture to a 50 mL tube and centrifuge at 4000 x g for 30 min at room temperature. Remove the supernatant using a pipette and wash the cells twice with the induction medium. 
		NOTE: The induction media used is TAP media adjusted to pH 5.5 and supplemented with F/2 medium trace metals and vitamins with 200 &#181;M acetosyringone (AS, see Table of Materials). Resuspend the cells in induction media such that OD600 = 0.5.</li>
		<li>To prepare the C. vulgaris culture for co-cultivation, add 25 mL of induction media to the C. vulgaris plate containing ~ 5 x 106 cells. Transfer to a 50 mL tube. Centrifuge the cells at 4000 x g for 15 min at room temperature and discard the supernatant.</li>
		<li>Mix the algal cell pellet with 200 &#181;L of the bacterial suspension (OD600: 0.5) and incubate them in a rotary shaker at 21-25 &#176;C at 150 rpm for 1 h.</li>
		<li>Spread the mixed culture (200 &#181;L) onto induction media plates supplemented with 15 mM glucose and incubate at 21-25 &#176;C in the dark for 3 days.</li>
		<li>After 3 days, use 10 mL of TAP media supplemented with 400 mg/L cefotaxime or 20 mg/L of tetracycline (see Table of Materials) to collect the microalgae and incubate in the dark at 21-25 &#176;C for 2 days to eliminate A. tumefaciens from the culture.</li>
		<li>Plate 500 &#181;L of the culture onto selective media, e.g., TAP media supplemented with 20-70 mg/L of Hygromycin B (when using pCAMBIA1302) and 400 mg/L-1 cefotaxime or 20 mg/L of tetracycline. Incubate 21-25 &#176;C in the dark for 2 days before placing them in an illuminated chamber. 
		NOTE: Resistant colonies will appear 5-7 days after light exposure.</li>
		<li>Pick single colonies from the transformation plate and re-streak them on TAP agar plates supplemented with 400 mg/L of cefotaxime or 20 mg/L of tetracycline and 20-70 mg/L of Hygromycin B.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
</ol>
4. Colony PCR (cPCR) to confirm gene integration in C. vulgaris transformants
<ol>
	<li>Extract genomic DNA from a C. vulgaris transformant after subculturing at least twice from a single colony using a plant genomic DNA extraction kit (see Table of Materials). Using this as a template for PCR, design primers for the mgfp5 region of the T-DNA (mgfp5-Fwd: 5&#39; CCCATCTCATAAATAACGTC 3&#39;, and M13-Rev: 5&#39; CAGGAAACAGCTATGAC 3&#39;).
	<ol>
		<li>Using a Q5 high-fidelity DNA polymerase master mix kit (see Table of Materials), perform polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to validate transgene integration. 
		NOTE: The following conditions were used for the present study: 98 &#176;C for 3 min; 35 cycles (98 &#176;C for 10 s, 57 &#176;C for 30 s, 72 &#176;C for 1 min); 72 &#176;C for 5min. Use pCAMBIA1302 as a positive control and wild-type C. vulgaris genomic DNA as a negative control.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>To confirm that there is no pCAMBIA1302 present in the sample due to residual contamination by A. tumefaciens, use colony PCR. Add a small amount of transformant cells to 10 &#181;L of sterile water and boil at 98 &#176;C for 15 min. Use this as a template for PCR.
	<ol>
		<li>Design primers for a region outside of the T-DNA on pCAMBIA1302 (B1-Fwd: 5&#39;AGTAAAGGAGAAGAACTTTTC 3&#39; and B1-Rev: 5&#39;CCTGATGCGGTATTTTCTC 3&#39;). 
		NOTE: The following conditions were used for the present study: 94 &#176;C for 3 min; 30 cycles (94 &#176;C for 30 s, 48 &#176;C for 30 s, 68 &#176;C for 5 min); 68 &#176;C for 7 min. Use a boiled colony of A. tumefaciens AGL-1 (pCAMBIA1302) as a positive control and a boiled colony of wild-type C. vulgaris as a negative control.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>To confirm that there is no A. tumerfaciens contamination present in the sample, use colony PCR. Add a small amount of transformant cells to 10 &#181;L of sterile water and boil at 98 &#176;C for 15 min. Use this as a template for PCR.
	<ol>
		<li>Design primers for the virE2 gene contained on the AGL-1 virulence plasmid (virE2-Fwd: 5&#39; AGGGAGCCCTACCCG 3&#39; and virE2-Rev: 5&#39; GAACCAGCCTGGAGTTCG 3&#39;). 
		NOTE: The following conditions were used for the present study: 94 &#176;C for 3 min; 30 cycles (94 &#176;C for 30 s, 53 &#176;C for 30 s, 68 &#176;C for 3 min); 68 &#176;C for 7 min. Use a boiled colony of A. tumefaciens AGL-1 (pCAMBIA1302) as a positive control and a boiled colony of wild-type C. vulgaris as a negative control.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Run PCR samples on a DNA agarose gel along with a ladder (1 Kbp DNA ladder, see Table of Materials) to confirm the size of the resulting fragments16.</li>
</ol>
5. Measuring the fluorescence of transformants
<ol>
	<li>Inoculate each transformant from a log-phase maintenance culture or TAP agar slant into 50 mL of TAP supplemented with 200 mg/L-1 cefotaxime and 25 mg/L-1 Hygromycin B such that the starting OD600 = 0.1. Inoculate one culture with wild-type C. vulgaris and only 200 mg/L-1 cefotaxime as the negative control. Incubate at 25 &#176;C at 150 rpm with 150 &#181;mol/m2s of photosynthetically active light (see Table of Materials).</li>
	<li>Every 24 h, take a 300 &#181;L of sample and measure the absorbance and fluorescence (excitation 488 nm, emission 526 nm) in a 96-well plate reader or UV/Vis spectrometer and fluorometer (see Table of Materials). Use a black plate with a transparent bottom for simultaneous measurements.</li>
</ol>
6. Crude protein extraction, protein purification, and SDS-PAGE electrophoresis
<ol>
	<li>Inoculate transformant (#50) from a log-phase maintenance culture into 300 mL of TAP supplemented with 200 mg/L-1 cefotaxime and 25 mg/L-1 Hygromycin B to reach the OD680 = 0.1. Inoculate one culture with wild-type C. vulgaris and only 200 mg/L-1 cefotaxime as the negative control. Incubate at 25 &#176;C at 150 rpm with 150 &#181;mol/m2s of photosynthetically active light.</li>
	<li>Extract the crude protein sample from the transformant (#50) and wild-type strains using 5 mL lysis buffer (see Table 1), followed by sonication for 4 min.</li>
	<li>Purify crude protein sample with a Ni-NTA resin through 5 mL polypropylene columns (see Table of Materials).</li>
	<li>Lyophilize the 15 mL purified protein samples and resuspend them in 1 mL lysis buffer for SDS-PAGE analysis17.</li>
</ol>

Stable Gene Integration in &lt;em&gt;Chlorella vulgaris&lt;/em&gt; Using &lt;em&gt;Agrobacterium tumefaciens&lt;/em&gt;

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No conflicts of interest were declared.

The efficiency of transformation is associated with several different parameters. The choice of A. tumefaciens strains used for AMT is crucial. AGL-1 is one of the most invasive strains discovered and, for this reason, has been routinely used in plant AMT. Supplementing the induction media with glucose (15-20 mM) is also important for AMT efficiency. Considering C. vulgaris can grow in both phototrophic and heterotrophic conditions, glucose or other carbon sources are often omitted from microalgae media...

Agrobacterium tumefaciens, a gram-negative soil-borne bacterium, possesses a unique interkingdom gene transfer ability, earning it the title &#34;natural genetic engineer&#34;1. This bacterium can transfer DNA (T-DNA) from a tumor-inducing plasmid (Ti-Plasmid) into host cells through a Type IV secretion system, resulting in the integration and expression of the T-DNA within the host genome1,2,3,4. In the natural setting, this process leads to tumor formation in plants, commonly known as crown gall disease. However, Agrobacterium can also transfer T-DNA into various other organisms, including yeast, fungi, algae, sea urchin embryos, and even human cells under laboratory conditions5,6,7,8.
Exploiting this natural system, Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation (AMT) enables the random integration of gene(s) of interest into a host cell&#39;s nuclear genome by modifying the T-DNA region of the Ti-plasmid. For this purpose, a widely used AMT plant expression vector is pCAMBIA13029. Researchers can employ simple cloning workflows in E. coli before transferring the desired vector into A. tumefaciens for subsequent transfer to the host of interest.
Green microalgae are eukaryotes that share many similarities with land plants but are highly recalcitrant to genetic modification. However, genetic transformation plays a crucial role in both fundamental and biotechnological research of microalgae. In several microalgae species, particularly Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, genetic transformation via AMT has successfully introduced transgenes such as human interleukin-2 (hIL-2), the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 receptor-binding domain (SARS-CoV-2 RBD), and two antimicrobial peptides (AMPs)10,11,12,13. Among these, Chlorella vulgaris, a less fastidious and fast-growing green algae species, holds significant potential for the sustainable production of carbohydrates, proteins, nutraceuticals, pigments, and other high-value compounds14. However, the lack of reliable tools for creating transgenic strains of C. vulgaris hampers its commercial progress. Since there have been only a limited number of published works utilizing AMT in C. vulgaris15, and given the considerable differences between plant and microalgae cultivation, optimizing the AMT protocol becomes essential.
In this study, researchers inserted green fluorescent protein (mGFP5) downstream of the Cauliflower Mosaic Virus (CamV) 35S promoter and added a histidine tag to use it as a reporter gene for protein expression. Transformants were selected using Hygromycin B, and after subculturing for over twenty generations, the transformation remained stable. The pCAMBIA1302 plasmid employed in this work can be readily adapted to contain any gene of interest. Furthermore, the method and materials presented can be adjusted for other green algae species with an active CamV35S promoter, as this promoter is used for Hygromycin selection.

<table border="1" fo:keep-together.within-page="1" fo:keep-with-next.within-page="always">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>1 Kb Plus DNA ladder</td>
			<td>FroggaBio</td>
			<td>DM015</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Acetosyringone</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>D26665G</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Agrobacterium tumefaciens</td>
			<td>Gold Biotechnologies</td>
			<td>Strain: AGL-1; Gift from Prof. Paul Hooykaas</td>
			<td>Genotype: C58 RecA (RifR/CarbR) pTiBo542DT-DNA</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Biotin</td>
			<td>Enzo Life Sciences</td>
			<td>89151-400</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>CaCl2&#183;2H2O</td>
			<td>VWR</td>
			<td>BDH9224-1KG</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cefotaxime</td>
			<td>AK Scientific</td>
			<td>J90010</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Chlorella vulgaris</td>
			<td>University of Texas at Austin Culture Collection of Algae</td>
			<td>Strain: UTEX 395</td>
			<td>Wildtype strain</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>CoCl2&#183;6H2O</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>C8661-25G</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>CuSO4&#183;5H2O</td>
			<td>EMD Millipore</td>
			<td>CX2185-1</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>FeCl3&#183;6H2O</td>
			<td>VWR</td>
			<td>BDH9234-500G</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Gene Pulser Xcell Electroporator</td>
			<td>Bio-Rad</td>
			<td>1652662</td>
			<td>Main unit equipped with PC module.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>GeneJET Plant Genome Purification Kit</td>
			<td>Thermo Scientific</td>
			<td>K0791</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Glacial acetic acid</td>
			<td>VWR</td>
			<td>CABDH3093-2.2P</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Glycerol</td>
			<td>BioBasic</td>
			<td>GB0232</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>HEPES Buffer</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>H-3375</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Hygromycin B</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>AAJ6068103</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>K2HPO4</td>
			<td>VWR</td>
			<td>BDH9266-500G</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Kanamycin</td>
			<td>Gold Biotechnologies</td>
			<td>K-250-25</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>KH2PO4</td>
			<td>VWR</td>
			<td>BDH9268-500G</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>MgSO4&#183;7H2O</td>
			<td>VWR</td>
			<td>97062-134</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>MnCl2&#183;4H2O</td>
			<td>JT Baker</td>
			<td>BAKR2540-01</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Na2CO3</td>
			<td>VWR</td>
			<td>BDH7971-1</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Na2EDTA&#183;2H2O</td>
			<td>JT Baker</td>
			<td>8993-01</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Na2MoO4&#183;2H2O</td>
			<td>JT Baker</td>
			<td>BAKR3764-01</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>NaCl</td>
			<td>VWR</td>
			<td>BDH7257-7</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>NaH2PO4 H2O</td>
			<td>Millipore Sigma</td>
			<td>CA80058-650</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>NaNO3&#160;</td>
			<td>VWR</td>
			<td>BDH4574-500G</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>NEBExpress Ni Resin</td>
			<td>NewEngland BioLabs</td>
			<td>NEB #S1427</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>NH4Cl</td>
			<td>VWR</td>
			<td>BDH9208-500G</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>pCAMBIA1302</td>
			<td>Leiden University</td>
			<td>Gift from Prof. Paul Hooykaas</td>
			<td>pBR322, KanR, pVS1, T-DNA(CaMV 35S/HygR/CaMV polyA, CaMV 35S promoter/mgpf5-6xhis/NOS terminator)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Polypropylene Columns (5 mL)</td>
			<td>QIAGEN</td>
			<td>34964</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Precision Plus Protein Unstained Protein Standards, Strep-tagged recombinant, 1 mL</td>
			<td>Bio-Rad</td>
			<td>1610363</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Rifampicin</td>
			<td>Millipore Sigma</td>
			<td>R3501-1G</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>SunBlaster LED Strip Light 48 Inch&#160;</td>
			<td>SunBlaster</td>
			<td>210000000906</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Synergy 4 Microplate UV/Vis spectrometer&#160;</td>
			<td>BioTEK</td>
			<td>S4MLFPTA</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Tetracycline</td>
			<td>Thermo Scientific Chemicals</td>
			<td>CAAAJ61714-14</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>TGX Stain-Free FastCast Acrylamide Kit, 12%</td>
			<td>Bio-Rad</td>
			<td>1610185</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Thiamine</td>
			<td>TCI America</td>
			<td>T0181-100G</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Tris Base</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>BP152-500</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Tryptone</td>
			<td>BioBasic</td>
			<td>TG217(G211)</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin)</td>
			<td>Enzo Life Sciences</td>
			<td>89151-436</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Yeast Extract</td>
			<td>BioBasic</td>
			<td>G0961</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>ZnSO4&#183;7H2O</td>
			<td>JT Baker</td>
			<td>4382-01</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated genetic engineering of green microalgae, chlorella vulgaris

Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation (AMT) serves as a widely employed tool for manipulating plant genomes. However, A. tumefaciens exhibit the capacity for gene transfer to a diverse array of species. Numerous microalgae species lack well-established methods for reliably integrating genes of interest into their nuclear genome. To harness the potential benefits of microalgal biotechnology, simple and efficient genome manipulation tools are crucial. Herein, an optimized AMT protocol is presented for the industrial microalgae species Chlorella vulgaris, utilizing the reporter green fluorescent protein (mGFP5) and the antibiotic resistance marker for Hygromycin B. Mutants are selected through plating on Tris-Acetate-Phosphate (TAP) media containing Hygromycin B and cefotaxime. Expression of mGFP5 is quantified via fluorescence after over ten generations of subculturing, indicating the stable transformation of the T-DNA cassette. This protocol allows for the reliable generation of multiple transgenic C. vulgaris colonies in under two weeks, employing the commercially available pCAMBIA1302 plant expression vector.

Author Spotlight: Optimized Transformation Protocol for Chlorella vulgaris Using Agrobacterium tumefaciens 

Agrobacterium tumefaciens-Mediated Genetic Engineering of Green Microalgae, Chlorella vulgaris

The scope of the research focused on the development and optimization of a protocol for the transformation of chlorella vulgaris. We aimed to create a stable transgenic strains of chlorella vulgaris using agrobacterium tumefaciens and a specific plasmid, pCAMBIA1302, that allowed them to insert gene of interest and the potential for bio technological applications. Metabolic engineering and synthetic biology, microscopy and imaging, CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing, bioinformatics, computational modeling, remote sensing and satellite imaging, nanotechnology, bioprocessing, and downstream processing.This study introduces an optimized agrobacterium tumefaciens media transformation protocol for the microalgae chlorella vulgaris using a specific plasmid and marker. It lays groundwork for enhancing microalgae by technology, overcoming previous limitations in reliable transformation tools for C.vulgaris.

To show successful transformation using the method above, C. vulgaris was cocultured with either AGL-1 containing the pCAMBIA1302 plasmid or without the plasmid (wild-type and plated on TAP agar supplemented with Hygromycin B and cefotaxime (Figure 1A). The leftmost plate shows the transformed colonies capable of growth on Hygromycin B/cefotaxime plates, and the middle plate shows that wild-type AGL-1 cannot grow on the Hygromycin B/cefotaxime plates. The rightmost plate shows that ...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Optimized Transformation Protocol for Chlorella vulgaris Using Agrobacterium tumefaciens at JoVE.com

This protocol outlines the utilization of Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation (AMT) for integrating gene(s) of interest into the nuclear genome of the green microalgae Chlorella vulgaris, leading to the production of stable transformants.

Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation (AMT) serves as a widely employed tool for manipulating plant genomes. However, A. tumefaciens exhibit ...

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Research

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Bioengineering

3.0K Views.  University of Waterloo. The scope of the research focused on the development and optimization of a protocol for the transformation of chlorella vulgaris. We aimed to create a stable transgenic strains of chlorella vulgaris using agrobacterium tumefaciens and a specific plasmid, pCAMBIA1302, that allowed them to insert gene of interest and the potential for bio technological applications. Metabolic engineering and synthetic biology, microscopy and imaging, CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing, bioinformatics, computational model...

Video: Author Spotlight: Optimized Transformation Protocol for Chlorella vulgaris Using Agrobacterium tumefaciens 

Preparation of Electrocompetent Agrobacterium tumefaciens Culture for Microalgal Genetic Engineering

Preparation of Electrocompetent  Agrobacterium tumefaciens  Culture for Microalgal Genetic Engineering  

Start by diluting 0.5 microliters of the overnight cultures of Agrobacterium tumefaciens culture with 50 milliliters of autoclaved ultrapure water. Spread 10 microliters of this diluted culture on a lysogeny broth or LB plate. Incubate the plate at 28 to 30 degrees Celsius for one to three days.Now, inoculate a single colony in 20 milliliters of LB media supplemented with rifampicin. Incubate the culture overnight at 28 to 30 degrees Celsius. The next day, inoculate 500 milliliters of plain LB media in a shaker flask with nine milliliters of overnight culture.Place the cultures on a shaker at 28 to 30 degrees Celsius. Following incubation and dividing the cultures into tubes, centrifuge the chilled tubes at four degrees Celsius and 4, 000 G for 15 minutes. Using a pipette, remove the supernatant and resuspend each pellet in 50 milliliters of ice cold water.After centrifuging and discarding the supernatant, resuspend the pellet in 25 milliliters of ice cold water in each tube. Centrifuge as before, then resuspend the pellet in one milliliter of ice cold 10%glycerol. Now, combine the contents of all the tubes into a single 50-milliliter tube before centrifuging.Finally, after discarding the supernatant, resuspend the pellet in 400 microliters of ice cold glycerol.

Electroporation of Agrobacterium tumefaciens for Genetic Engineering of Microalgal Cells

Electroporation of  Agrobacterium tumefaciens  for Genetic Engineering of Microalgal Cells  

Begin by adding 50 microliters of electrocompetent Agrobacterium tumefaciens cells into a pre-chilled 0.1-millimeter Q-vet. Add two microliters of pCAMBIA1302 to the Q-vet. now use an electroporator at 2, 400 volts to eelectroporate the cells.Immediately add one milliliter of LB media to the Q-vet and pipette the solution up and down to mix gently. Next, transfer the resuspended cells into a 1.5-milliliter microtube. Then incubate it at 24 to 30 degrees Celsius for a minimum of one hour to recover.Now plate the cells on antibiotic supplemented LB auger. Incubate the plates at 28 to 30 degrees Celsius for two to three days. Finally, inoculate a single colony in LB broth.Allow the culture to grow overnight. Then cryopreserve the plasmid-containing strain with a 50%glycerol solution at 80 degrees Celsius for future use.

Agrobacterium-Mediated Transformation of Chlorella vulgaris and Confirmation of Gene Integration via Colony PCR (cPCR)

Agrobacterium-Mediated Transformation of Chlorella vulgaris  and Confirmation of Gene Integration via Colony PCR (CPCR)  

Begin by pipetting out 0.5 milliliters of a log phase culture of chlorella vulgaris. Spread the culture on at Tris-Acetate-Phosphate or TAP Agar plate. Grow the culture for five days at 25 degrees Celsius.Next, inoculate 10 milliliters of supplemented LB broth with a loop full of electroporated agrobacterium tumefaciens culture in a shaker flask. Incubate the flask at 28 to 30 degrees Celsius and 250 RPM overnight. The next day, inoculate one milliliter of the overnight culture into 50 milliliters of supplemented LB.Incubate the flask at 28 to 30 degrees Celsius and 250 RPM.To co-cultivate the algal and bacterial cultures. First, transfer the agrobacterium culture into a 50 milliliter tube. Centrifuge the tube at 4, 000 G for 30 minutes at room temperature.Then, pipette out the supernatant to discard it and wash the cells twice using the induction medium. Next, add 25 milliliters of induction media onto the Chlorella Vulgaris culture plate. Transfer the cells into a 50 milliliter tube, then centrifuge at 4, 000 G for 15 minutes at room temperature.After disposing of the supernatant, combine the algal cell pellet with 200 microliters of the bacterial suspension. Shake the combined culture in a rotary incubator at 21 to 25 degrees Celsius, said at 150 RPM for one hour. Spread 200 microliters of the mixed culture onto induction medium plates, supplemented with 15 millimoles of glucose and incubate the plates in the dark at 21 to 25 degrees Celsius for three days.After three days, collect the microalgae into a flask using 10 milliliters of TAP media. Supplemented with 20 milligrams per liter of tetracycline. Incubate the flask in the dark for two days, maintaining a temperature between 21 to 25 degrees Celsius.Plate 500 microliters of the culture onto selective media supplemented with 20 milligrams per liter of tetracycline. Incubate the plates at 21 to 25 degrees Celsius in darkness for two days, before shifting them into an illuminated chamber. Select single colonies from the transformation plate and streak them onto TAP agar plates.To perform colony PCR, start by adding a small volume of the transformant algal cells to 10 microliters of sterile water. Boil the solution at 98 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes. Similarly process another PCR template for the confirmation of agrobacterium absence in the sample.Run the PCR samples on a DNA agarose gel with a ladder, to verify the size of the resulting fragments. Transformed colonies were able to grow on plates containing hygromycin with cefotaxime. The wild type colonies did not grow on the plates.Colonies resistant up to 70 milligrams per liter of cefotaxime were obtained. Colony PCR Amplicon of pCAMBIA1302 was absent in the algal samples. However MGFP5G in amplicon was detected in all three algal samples.Algal cultures that were repeatedly subcultures of Cefotaxime showed the absence of the virulence protein E2, indicative of plasmid absence. A significant difference in algal growth of the transformants and wild type strains were observed. Despite lower growth, the transformant had higher fluorescence levels when normalized for cell density.