The green microalgae Botryococcus braunii is considered a promising biofuel feedstock producer due to its prodigious accumulation of hydrocarbon oils that can be converted into fuels. B. braunii Race L produces the C40 tetraterpenoid hydrocarbon lycopadiene via an uncharacterized biosynthetic pathway. A team of international researchers announced this week that it has successfully isolated the enzyme responsible for this hydrocarbon production and are looking to use it to make biofuels en masse.