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Ecology-based selective environments as solution to contamination in microalgal cultivation
Peter R Mooij1, Gerben R Stouten1, Mark C M van Loosdrecht1
1Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Julianalaan 67, 2628 BC Delft, The Netherlands.
Current Opinion in Biotechnology
|December 3, 2014
Summary
Harnessing microalgal diversity is key for sustainable production. By adjusting cultivation environments to favor desired traits, competition and evolution become assets, not threats, for producing energy storage compounds.
Area of Science:
- Biotechnology
- Microalgal Cultivation
- Synthetic Biology
Background:
- Large-scale microalgal production of energy storage compounds faces challenges from competition and evolution.
- These phenomena lead to contamination, stemming from a mismatch between target strains and their environment.
- Current solutions focus on enhancing strain resilience, such as using closed systems or extreme conditions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose an alternative strategy for microalgal cultivation.
- To shift the paradigm from strain protection to environmental manipulation for enhanced productivity.
- To leverage natural microalgal diversity for industrial applications.
Main Methods:
- Conceptual framework development for environmental selection.
- Analysis of ecological principles in microalgal cultivation.
- Review of existing challenges in large-scale microalgal bioproduction.
Main Results:
- Environmental adjustment can create selective pressures favoring desired traits like lipid production.
- Competition and evolution can be redirected to benefit, rather than hinder, the production process.
- This approach utilizes the inherent diversity within microalgal populations.
Conclusions:
- Adjusting the cultivation environment to provide a competitive advantage for desired traits is a promising strategy.
- This method reframes competition and evolution as valuable tools in microalgal biotechnology.
- Harnessing natural microalgal diversity through selective environments offers a sustainable path for biocompound production.
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