Identification of small droplets of photosynthetic squalene in engineered Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 using TEM and selective fluorescent Nile red analysis.

Engineering of Cyanobacteria has focused on sustainable production of squalene by converting CO2 . Before improving the photosynthetic squalene production, we characterized formation of squalene, showing small droplets in the cytoplasm instead of single granule. Based on the finding and the analysis, this study has provided valuable evidences how further metabolic engineering strategies should apply to enhance the production yield.