Multifunctional fluorocarbon photobioreactor system: a novel integrated device for CO2 segregation, O2 collection, and enhancement of microalgae growth and bioproductions

Microalgal-bacterial granular sludge process for non-aerated aquaculture wastewater treatment

Microalgal-bacterial granular sludge (MBGS) process has become a focal point in treating municipal wastewater. However, it remains elusive whether the emerging process can be applied for the treatment of aquaculture wastewater, which contains considerable concentrations of nitrate and nitrite. This study evaluated the feasibility of MBGS process for aquaculture wastewater treatment. Result showed that the MBGS process was competent to remove respective 64.8%, 84.9%, 70.8%, 50.0% and 84.2% of chemical oxygen demand, ammonia-nitrogen, nitrate-nitrogen, nitrite-nitrogen and phosphate-phosphorus under non-aerated conditions within 8 h. The dominant microalgae and bacteria were identified to be Coelastrella and Rhodobacteraceae, respectively. Further metagenomics analysis implied that microbial assimilation was the main contributor in organics, nitrogen and phosphorus removal. Specifically, considerable nitrate and nitrite removals were also obtained with the synergy between microalgae and bacteria. Consequently, this work demonstrated that the MBGS process showed a prospect of becoming an environmentally friendly and efficient alternative in aquaculture wastewater treatment.

Photosynthetic Carbon Partitioning and Metabolic Regulation in Response to Very-Low and High CO2 in Microchloropsis gaditana NIES 2587

Photosynthetic organisms fix inorganic carbon through carbon capture machinery (CCM) that regulates the assimilation and accumulation of carbon around ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco). However, few constraints that govern the central carbon metabolism are regulated by the carbon capture and partitioning machinery. In order to divert the cellular metabolism toward lipids and/or biorenewables it is important to investigate and understand the molecular mechanisms of the CO2-driven carbon partitioning. In this context, strategies for enhancement of CO2 fixation which will increase the overall biomass and lipid yields, can provide clues on understanding the carbon assimilation pathway, and may lead to new targets for genetic engineering in microalgae. In the present study, we have focused on the physiological and metabolomic response occurring within marine oleaginous microalgae Microchloropsis gaditana NIES 2587, under the influence of very-low CO2 (VLC; 300 ppm, or 0.03%) and high CO2 (HC; 30,000 ppm, or 3% v/v). Our results demonstrate that HC supplementation in M. gaditana channelizes the carbon flux toward the production of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) and also increases the overall biomass productivities (up to 2.0 fold). Also, the qualitative metabolomics has identified nearly 31 essential metabolites, among which there is a significant fold change observed in accumulation of sugars and alcohols such as galactose and phytol in VLC as compared to HC. In conclusion, our focus is to understand the entire carbon partitioning and metabolic regulation within these photosynthetic cell factories, which will be further evaluated through multiomics approach for enhanced productivities of biomass, biofuels, and bioproducts (B3).