Research Projects

Homeoviscous adaptation is the process of maintaining cell membrane viscosity or fluidity by adjusting membrane lipid components. Temperature (T) plays a significant role in many fundamental cellular processes, and some organisms regulate the saturated and unsaturated fatty acid chains of membrane lipids to adapt to T changes. This project aims to understand if homeoviscous adaptation can protect the cell membranes of the commercially important red alga Kappaphycus alvarezii (K. alvarezii) from temperature stress. K. alvarezii is cultivated in India and other Asian countries as a major source of carrageenan used in food industries. The highest growth of K. alvarezii is reported at 26-28 °C, while an abrupt increase in seawater T to 34-36 °C caused complete mortality. The molecular mechanism of thermal adaptation for K. alvarezii remains unknown. To address this issue, extensive computer simulations will be conducted to study the biophysical properties of algal lipid membranes, based on the experimentally-reported FA composition of K. alvarezii at its growth T. The phase states of unadapted lipid membranes will be studied at various temperatures between 20 to 40 °C, and the phase transition phenomenon in multi-component model algal membranes will be probed. Quantitative fatty acid profiling of K. alvarezii will be performed at various temperatures using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The knowledge gained from this project will help design strategies to mitigate the effects of global warming and provide the basis for future studies for identifying thermal-resilient strains of K. alvarezii for sustainable cultivation.