Loading...
Screening, down-selection, characterization, and genetic tool development in high-productivity microalgae
Dahlin, Lukas Royce
Dahlin, Lukas Royce
Citations
Altmetric:
Editor
Date
Date Issued
2019
Date Submitted
Collections
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Embargo Expires
Abstract
Microalgae are a promising source of renewable biomass, and biocatalysts which can be utilized for the renewable production of fuel and chemical intermediates. During the time the work of this thesis was pursued microalgal productivity was recognized as a limiting factor to achieve competitive pricing with fossil fuel alternatives. To address this, a microalgal culture collection was screened, down-selecting for promising strains showing robust growth under relevant outdoor conditions. After isolating several promising strains, they were further characterized, ultimately leading to the identification of strains for robust winter and summer cultivation. Winter strains were grown outdoors in 1000 L raceway ponds in February of 2016 to confirm and characterize real world growth metrics. Two promising summer isolates were identified, Picochlorum renovo and Scenedesmus sp. These two strains both display high productivity, however, have remarkably different life cycles. Picochlorum renovo has a compact genome, grows rapidly, undergoes cell division during both day and night, and once nitrogen deprived photosynthesis ceases. In contrast, Scenedesmus sp. has a relatively large genome, regulates cell division to occur during dark periods, and has a remarkably high photosynthetic rate when nitrogen deprived. To further enhance growth and enable basic science inquiries genetic tools were developed for Picochlorum renovo. Tools necessary for the overexpression of proteins from either the nuclear or chloroplast genomes were developed.
Associated Publications
Rights
Copyright of the original work is retained by the author.