You know I am kinda tired of posting this but here it goes again.  There are
patents on the DHA produced by Martek--all of them implying that this algae
is genetically engineered.  The National Academy of Sciences gave this
company a grant of at least $1 million to develope this new algae.  The
following article is worth reading called, "Photosynthetic Algae Altered to
grow without sunlight"...Valerie W. McClain, IBCLC
http://unisci.com/stories/20012/0615013.htm

"For the first time, scientists have introduced a fundamental metabolic
change in a single-celled alga so that it no longer requires light to grow.
Photosynthetic algae are the major primary producers in aquatic environments.
They are also used in industry for food, to make pigments and cosmetics, and
for other applications. Until now, these organisms have mostly been grown in
open ponds where the variability of the environment, light limitation and
contamination with microbes are frequent problems. Scientists have now found
that by inserting just one gene that catalyzes glucose transport into the
diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum, the organism can thrive in the dark,
getting its energy exclusively from the glucose. This marks a critical first
step toward large-scale, high-density, cost effective cultivation of algae
using fermentation technology. The results of this study are published in
today's issue of Science.The Science study is a result of a collaborative
effort between researchers at the Department of Plant Biology of the Carnegie
Institution of Washington in Palo Alto, California, and Martek Biosciences
Corporation in Columbia, Maryland. Glucose is a primary energy source for
most cells. For their experiments, the scientists individually inserted
several genes responsible for glucose transport from three different
organisms into the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum. One of the genes, Hup1,
is from the green alga Chlorella kessleri. Three other genes, Hxt1, Hxt2 and
Hxt4, come from the yeast Saccharomyces cervisiae, which is widely used in
the brewing and baking industries. The final gene, Glut1, and the one that
has shown the most promise, is involved in transporting glucose into human
red blood cells to maintain metabolic processes. The investigators introduced
each of these genes into the alga and found that both the Hup1 and Glut1
genes allowed it to take up high levels of glucose and thrive in the dark. In
addition to its industrial potential, the newly engineered diatom will allow
scientists to make fundamental discoveries about the processes of
photosynthesis and other metabolic activities in algae. The study also has
interesting evolutionary implications. As stated by one of the investigators,
Arthur Grossman of Carnegie, "This is the first time that a eukaryotic
organism has been transformed from a light-dependent to a light-independent
growth mode. It is sobering to think that it required one gene to create such
a dramatic difference in life-style. This study, and others, are pointing to
a future in which metabolic engineering may be an important means for
tailoring organisms to meet the demands of an ever-strained global
population." Henry Linsert, Jr., Martek's Chairman and CEO, sees this work
as, "a fundamental breakthrough that opens up the commercial development of
the vast number of photosynthetic microalgae and the unique compounds they
produce."

The Carnegie Institution of Washington has been a pioneering force in basic
scientific research since 1902. It is a private nonprofit organization with
five research departments in the U.S.: Terrestrial Magnetism and the
Geophysical Laboratory in Washington, D.C., Plant Biology in Stanford,
California, Observatories in Pasadena, California, and Embryology in
Baltimore, Maryland.

Martek Biosciences Corporation develops, manufactures and sells products from
microalgae. The company's products include: (1) specialty nutritional oils
for infant formula, nutritional supplements and food ingredients that may
play a beneficial role in promoting mental and cardiovascular health, and in
the development of the eyes and central nervous system in newborns, (2) high
value reagents and technologies"

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