Knowledge at the molecular level of microalgae has obtained great scientific interest in recent years, because of their potential for biofuel production, as well as other highly valued molecules. Recent advances in the area of the genetic manipulation of microalgae open an entirely new field of possible applications for these organisms as biorefineries. This review represents a compendium that gathers the main milestones that have marked the area of genetic engineering in microalgae during the last decade, from classical techniques for the transformation and expression of transgenes, to the most avant‐garde techniques currently used for gene silencing and DNA edition, as well as a discussion about the future perspectives in this field.

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微藻基因工程的进展与挑战

近年来，由于微藻具有生物燃料生产以及其他高价值分子的潜力，因此在微藻的分子水平上的知识已引起了极大的科学兴趣。微藻的基因操作领域的最新进展为这些生物作为生物精炼厂打开了一个全新的可能应用领域。这篇综述代表了一份纲要，该纲要汇集了过去十年中标记微藻基因工程领域的主要里程碑，从转基因转化和表达的经典技术到目前用于基因沉默和DNA的最前卫技术版，以及对该领域未来前景的讨论。