Posttranslational Modifications in Algae: Role in Stress Response and Biopharmaceutical Production

Posttranslational modification (PTM), a key process for the functional diversity of proteins, plays a crucial role in regulation and maintenance of various processes of the cell, including metabolism, recognition, morphological changes, defense, protein conformation and integrity, etc. Although in algae, induction of stress genes at transcription level significantly contributes to the defense system of the cell, PTMs directly regulate the activities of preexisting stress proteins with rapid responses. Among all PTMs reported in algae in response to stress, the most common are phosphorylation, ubiquitination, and SUMOylation. Glycosylation and di-sulfide bond play an essential role in manufacturing therapeutic proteins due to their involvement in protein folding and function. In fact, in algae, PTMs are manifested to contribute to various parameters that have immense influence on the endogenous protein biology, stress responses, and protein based/derived therapeutics. In this chapter, we have tried to summarize the importance and application of major and well-studied PTMs in relation to stress responses as well as therapeutics in algae.