Impact of light wavelength on the transcriptome of Porphyridium cruentum and culture yield

Changes in light wavelength can alter the phycobiliprotein content in photosynthetic organisms. These molecules are involved in harvesting light energy for photosynthesis and are interesting microalgal products. Furthermore, increasing or modifying phycobiliprotein content in eukaryotic microalgae is possible. Specifically, exposure to different wavelengths triggers their ability to switch their metabolism using light. Moreover, molecular findings support light modulation of phycobiliproteins in the microalgae Porphyridium cruentum. Therefore, this research aimed to describe how two light spectra affects the transcriptome in P. cruentum cultures. Notably, blue and white wavelengths did not significantly modify the phycobiliprotein and macromolecules content by biomass unit. Nevertheless, a differential expression profile was found in the transcriptome; a PHO80-like cyclin PC3933011 was up-regulated, likely connected to the higher cell number obtained under the white wavelength. Finally, we established the viability of manipulating light for phycobiliprotein production in this P. cruentum and confirmed that light acts as a cell cycle regulator.