EXPRESSION VECTOR FOR MICROALGA CELL TRANSFORMATION

The present invention discloses an expression vector for transforming algal cells, which comprises an endogenous promoter, an antigenic protein fragment and an antibiotic resistance gene. The expression vector is configured to introduce a gene into Nannochloropsis sp. such that the gene is expressed and functional. This transforms the alga Nannochloropsis sp. with high efficiency, which makes it useful for various applications including, in the aquaculture industry. In an embedment, the expression vectors for Nannochloropsis sp. according to the present invention are comprised of two sets of nucleotide sequences and referred to as VCP_OMPK_ZA1 and VCP_OMPK_ZA2. Both the vectors contain a fragment of nitrate reductase gene, which is configured to replace a partial fragment of the gene with an expression system expressing antigenic protein called OmpK originated from Vibrio harveyi. Expression of both the vectors are driven by endogenous violaxanthin-chlorophyll protein (VCP) promoter and a terminator, respectively. Figure 5