Microalgal Biotechnology: Bioactive Compounds to Biofuels

초록

Algal biotechnology is drawing increasing interest due to its potential as a source of valuable pharmaceuticals, pigments, carbohydrates, lipids (fatty acids), and other fine chemical as well as its ability to grow photoautotrophically. Currently, its application is being extended to the areas of waste water treatment and agriculture. Further, the ability to accumulate oil up to 70-80% of their dry body mass draws a huge attention as an alternative energy source in order to limit the release of greenhouse gasses and to secure independence from energy sources in other countries. However, lack of suitable bioprocess and other tools to optimize the strain makes the cost of algally-derived production of biofuels or other biologically active compounds higher than other means of production. Microalgae are photosynthetic organisms to produce potentially industrially important bioactive metabolites such as astaxanthin, b-carotene, PUFAs and phycobiliprotein etc. In order to enhance their productivity, researchers have developed many kinds of bioreactors and various cultivation methods. The engineering optimization showed a clear limit. Our lab has developed unique bioprocesses for high-density microalgal cultures and has introduced systems biology for the first time to increase productivity of algally-driven products. On the other hand, microalgal bioprocesses for huge-scale bioenergy production should be very different from those for bioactive compounds. Much cheaper and easily-scalable versions of photobioreactors have been developed and some are already applied in the field. This presentation will review 15 years of experience of microalgal biotechnology in our lab and discuss possible future collaborations.