Photo-catalytic conversion of carbon dioxide to organic acids by a recombinant cyanobacterium incapable of glycogen storage

Deletion of the gene encoding glucose-1-phosphate adenylyltransferase (ΔglgC) in the non-nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium, Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, disables glycogen synthesis, arrests cellular biomass accumulation under nitrogen deficiency, and redirects photosynthetically fixed carbon to organic acids (α-ketoglutarate and pyruvate) that appear in the extracellular medium.