​ Microalgae-based conversion of carbon dioxide to biofuels

 

Micro algae algae that can’t be seen with the naked eye but these can absorb carbon dioxide and produce oils that can be used as bio fuels. This is a carbon negative process and work undertaken by the institute of bio energy and bioprocess technology in the Chinese Academy of Sciences have discovered that a genetic marker for a sensor of blue light can be used to regulate oil synthesis. This new technology called blue light induced oil synthesis could be a major breakthrough. Scientists have long known the oil production is part of the response of micro algal cells to environmental stress but the team have discovered that changing the light from white to then blue light results in the peak productivity of these oils rather than under constant white light.

Zhang, P., Xin, Y., He, Y. et al. Exploring a blue-light-sensing transcription factor to double the peak productivity of oil in Nannochloropsis oceanica. Nat Commun 13, 1664 (2022)



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