Assoc. Prof. Arzu YILDIRIM's LAB

General Information:

Microalgae represent a versatile and sustainable biofactory platform for the safe and cost-effective production of recombinant proteins. Our laboratory conducts advanced research on the heterologous expression of industrial enzymes, therapeutic proteins, antimicrobial peptides, and high-value pigments using microalgal systems.

Research areas:

·       Gene transfer and gene expression analyses in microalgal platforms

·       Purification, structural and functional characterization, and bioactivity analyses of recombinant proteins

·       Plasmid construction, molecular cloning, and expression vector design

·       Recombinant protein production in microalgae and optimization of production parameters

·       Biotechnological and industrial applications of transgenic microalgae

Selected publications:

·       Yıldırım, A., Ilhan-Ayışığı, E., Duzel, A., Mayfield, S.P, Sargın, S. (2023). Optimization of culture conditions for the production and activity of recombinant xylanase from microalgal platform. Biochemical Engineering Journal. 197: 108967 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bej.2023.108967.

·       Yıldırım A., Roy K., Aslanbay-Güler B., Imamoğlu E., Ledesma-Amaro R. (2025). Novel genome editing techniques for microalgae and yeast. In: Cristina Gonzalez-Fernandez and Elia Tomás-Pejó (eds), Eukaryotic Microorganisms as Sources of Bioproducts. Woodhead publising, Elsevier Ltd. Pages:33-55.  https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-443-30188-9.00018-4

·       Yıldırım, A. (2023). Potential of Microalgae as a Sustainable System for Recombinant Protein Therapeutics. In: Oncel, S.S. (eds) A Sustainable Green Future. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-24942-6_11

·       Yıldırım A., (2019). Bölüm 3: Rekombinant moleküllerin üretiminde mikroalglerin kullanımı: Mikroalglerde genetik mühendisliği uygulamaları. Mühendislik Alanında Yeni Ufuklar. Gece Kitaplığı, Editör: Doç Dr. Atilla Atik. ss: 396, Bölüm 3 sayfa no: 69-84.