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H2020Individual fellowship2019–2021

MMM-REBIO · Mixotrophy in marine microalgae for renewable biomass production

Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Duration
2019-11-04 → 2021-11-03
EU contribution
€191,852
Participants
1
Scheme
MSCA-IF-EF-ST

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Results in brief

Mixotrophy in marine microalgae for renewable biomass production

Microalgae are unicellular photosynthetic microorganisms that have originated from endosymbiotic events in which a heterotrophic ancestor fused with various photoautotrophic (photosynthetic) organisms. Thanks to this evolutionary history, they possess both photosynthetic and respiratory organelles (chloroplasts and mitochondria, respectively) and hence exhibit trophic flexibility. Although most microalgae are photoautotrophs, some of them are also able to use organic carbon via respiration either in the dark (heterotrophs) or in a light-dependent manner (mixotrophs). Mixotrophy is the trophic mode in which both CO2 and organic carbon are assimilated simultaneously thanks to the activation of both respiration and photosynthesis. It can be employed as a method to increase the productivity of microalgae cultivated in low light conditions. To minimize the additional cost of organic carbon supplementation, industrial wastewater and biodiesel waste (i.e., glycerol) are often used for algae cultivation and biomass production. Although mixotrophy is a common method to increase productivity in algal industrial cultivation (or in R&D studies), only a handful research projects have focused on understanding the underlying molecular processes in microalgae. The overall goal of the MMMREBIO project was to use the mixotrophic growth as a strategy to maximize the outdoor productivity of selected microalgal species on the Swedish west coast during the whole year combining both applied and basic research.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

Diatoms are unicellular eukaryotic algae (microalgae) and one of the most common and diverse type of marine phytoplankton. Thanks to a flexible cell metabolism, they dominate in environmental conditions normally unfavorable for photosynthesis, i.e. freezing seawater, low light intensity and short photoperiod. Moreover, diatoms are able to synthesize storage lipids (20-50% of cell dry weight) that can be used for production of renewable biomass and high-value fatty acids. However, the success of these microalgae as feedstock depends on lowering the production cost. The proposed project aims to develop mixotrophic cultivation (i.e. the simultaneous use of light and carbon dioxide for photosynthesis and organic carbon for respiration) to maximize growth and outdoor productivity for selected strains from the Swedish west coast. The focus will be on the bloom-forming coastal diatom Skeletonema marinoi (S. marinoi) whose sequence annotation is ongoing, and the recent knowledge on mixotrophic growth of the model diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum will be employed. The main objectives will be: i) using the bloom-forming S. marinoi to better understand mixotrophic metabolism in diatoms; ii) exploring the optimal mixotrophic conditions for enhanced productivity of S. marinoi; iii) investigating the potential industrial applications of S. marinoi when cultivated under mixotrophy. To achieve these objectives, an interdisciplinary approach including computational, biophysical, analytical, biotechnological and biological methods will be employed. A mixotrophic outdoor cultivation of marine microalgae in the dynamic climate of the Swedish west coast could provide a higher total production of renewable biomass for industry.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

  • GOETEBORGS UNIVERSITET · GoeteborgCoordinatorSweden

Links

Data: CORDIS, © European Union