Chapter 3
Phycobiliproteins in Microalgae:
Occurrence, Distribution,
and Biosynthesis
Vinod K. Kannaujiya, Prashant R. Singh, Deepak Kumar,
and Rajeshwar P. Sinha
Abstract Photosynthetic performance of microalgae is predominantly dependent
on the intracellular pigments composition and its functionality. Phycobiliproteins
(PBPs) are the major accessory multi-colored pigment-protein assembly in thylakoid
membrane that play an eminent role in harvesting solar spectrum for the carbon
fixation. The wide spectral compositions of PBPs are due to assembly of mainly
three subunits such as phycoerythrin (PE), phycocyanin (PC), and allophycocyanin
(APC). The subunits of PBPs are widely distributed in various microalgae inhabiting
diverse habitats. They are metabolically produced by systematic catalytic regulation
of lyases enzymes in bilin biosynthesis. The multi-functional properties of PBPs
play an important role in various fields of life sciences. Comprehensive knowledge
of occurrence, distribution, and biosynthesis of various PBPs in microalgae is still
lacking. This chapter will mainly focus on the PBPs composition of microalgae,
its distribution, biosynthetic mechanisms, recent approaches in efficient production
technology, and commercial role of PBPs.
Keywords Biosynthesis · Commercialization · Metabolic pathway · Microalgae ·
Phycobiliproteins
3.1 Introduction
Phycobiliproteins (PBPs) are brilliantly colored, autofluorescent, and water-soluble
accessory light-harvesting pigments that play a key role in photosynthesis by transferring solar energy to the reaction center in cyanobacteria, red algae, glaucophytes,
and cryptomonads. PBPs constitute about 20–30% dry weight of the cell whose
concentration may rise up to 40–50% in low light intensity (Muramatsu and Hihara
V. K. Kannaujiya
Department of Botany, MMV, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, India
P. R. Singh · D. Kumar · R. P. Sinha (B)
Laboratory of Photobiology and Molecular Microbiology, Centre of Advanced Study in Botany,
Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, India
e-mail: rpsinha@gmail.com
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
E. Jacob-Lopes et al. (eds.), Pigments from Microalgae Handbook,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50971-2_3
43
Phycobiliproteins in Microalgae:
Occurrence, Distribution,
and Biosynthesis
Vinod K. Kannaujiya, Prashant R. Singh, Deepak Kumar,
and Rajeshwar P. Sinha
Abstract Photosynthetic performance of microalgae is predominantly dependent
on the intracellular pigments composition and its functionality. Phycobiliproteins
(PBPs) are the major accessory multi-colored pigment-protein assembly in thylakoid
membrane that play an eminent role in harvesting solar spectrum for the carbon
fixation. The wide spectral compositions of PBPs are due to assembly of mainly
three subunits such as phycoerythrin (PE), phycocyanin (PC), and allophycocyanin
(APC). The subunits of PBPs are widely distributed in various microalgae inhabiting
diverse habitats. They are metabolically produced by systematic catalytic regulation
of lyases enzymes in bilin biosynthesis. The multi-functional properties of PBPs
play an important role in various fields of life sciences. Comprehensive knowledge
of occurrence, distribution, and biosynthesis of various PBPs in microalgae is still
lacking. This chapter will mainly focus on the PBPs composition of microalgae,
its distribution, biosynthetic mechanisms, recent approaches in efficient production
technology, and commercial role of PBPs.
Keywords Biosynthesis · Commercialization · Metabolic pathway · Microalgae ·
Phycobiliproteins
3.1 Introduction
Phycobiliproteins (PBPs) are brilliantly colored, autofluorescent, and water-soluble
accessory light-harvesting pigments that play a key role in photosynthesis by transferring solar energy to the reaction center in cyanobacteria, red algae, glaucophytes,
and cryptomonads. PBPs constitute about 20–30% dry weight of the cell whose
concentration may rise up to 40–50% in low light intensity (Muramatsu and Hihara
V. K. Kannaujiya
Department of Botany, MMV, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, India
P. R. Singh · D. Kumar · R. P. Sinha (B)
Laboratory of Photobiology and Molecular Microbiology, Centre of Advanced Study in Botany,
Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, India
e-mail: rpsinha@gmail.com
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
E. Jacob-Lopes et al. (eds.), Pigments from Microalgae Handbook,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50971-2_3
43