Scenedesmus vacuolatus cultures for possible combined laccase-like phenoloxidase activity and biodiesel production

Cocultivation of White-Rot Fungi and Microalgae in the Presence of Nanocellulose

Cocultivation of fungi and algae can result in a mutualistic or antagonistic interaction depending on the species involved and the cultivation conditions. In this study, we investigated the growth behavior and enzymatic activity of two filamentous white-rot fungi (Trametes versicolor and Trametes pubescens) and two freshwater algae (Chlorella vulgaris and Scenedesmus vacuolatus) cocultured in the presence of TEMPO (2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl radical) oxidized cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) and cellulose nanocrystals (CNC). The growth of fungi and algae was studied in liquid, agar medium, and 3D-printed nanocellulose hydrogels. The results showed that cocultures grew faster under nutrient-rich conditions than in nutrient-depleted conditions. Key cellulose-degrading enzymes, including endoglucanase and laccase activities, were higher in liquid cocultures of T. versicolor and S. vacuolatus in the presence of cellulose compared to single cultures of fungi or algae. Although similar results were observed for cocultures of T. pubescens and C. vulgaris, laccase production diminished over time in these cultures. Fungi and algae were capable of growth in 3D-printed cellulose hydrogels. These results showed that cellulase enzyme production could be enhanced by cocultivating white-rot fungi with freshwater algae under nutrient-rich conditions with TEMPO-CNF and CNC. Additionally, the growth of white-rot fungi and freshwater algae in printed cellulose hydrogels demonstrates the potential use of fungi and algae in hydrogel systems for biotechnological applications, including biofuel production and bio-based fuel cell components. IMPORTANCE Depending on the conditions used to grow fungi and algae in the lab, they can interact in a mutually beneficial or negative way. These interactions could stimulate the organisms to produce enzymes in response to the interaction. We studied how wood decay fungi and freshwater algae grew in the presence and absence of cellulose, one of the basic building blocks of wood. How fungi and algae grew in 3D-printed cellulose hydrogels was also tested. Our results showed that fungi and algae partners produced significantly larger amounts of enzymes that degraded cellulose when grown with cellulose than when grown alone. In addition, fungi and algae were shown to grow in dense nanocellulose hydrogels and could survive the shear conditions during gel structuring while 3D-printing. These cultures could potentially be applied in the biotech industry for applications like energy production from cellulose, biofuel production, and bioremediation of cellulose material.

Comparison of Galdieria growth and photosynthetic activity in different culture systems

In the last years, the acidothermophilic red microalga Galdieria sulphuraria has been increasingly studied for industrial applications such as wastewater treatment, recovery of rare earth elements, production of phycobilins. However, even now it is not possible an industrial cultivation of this organism because biotechnological research on G. sulphuraria and allied species is relatively recent and fragmented. Having in mind a possible scale-up for commercial applications, we have compared the growth and photosynthetic performance of G. sulphuraria in four suspended systems (Inclined bubble column, Decanter Laboratory Flask, Tubular Bioreactor, Ultra-flat plate bioreactor) and one immobilized system (Twin Layer Sytem). The results showed that G. sulphuraria had the highest growth, productivity and photosynthetic performance, when grown on the immobilized system, which also offers some economics advantages.

Biomass and phycobiliprotein production of Galdieria sulphuraria, immobilized on a twin-layer porous substrate photobioreactor

The extremophile red alga Galdieria sulphuraria was successfully grown immobilized in a twin-layer porous substrate bioreactor (TL-PSBR). A maximal biomass growth rate of 10 g dry weight m^-2 day^-1 was measured at a photon fluence rate of 200 μmol photons m^-2 s^-1 with addition of 1% CO₂ and a temperature of 34 °C. Under these conditions, a maximal biomass value of 232 g m^-2 was attained after 33 days of growth. Phycobilin productivity, however, was highest at a lower photon fluence rate of 100 μmol photons m^-2 s^-1 and reached a phycobilin value of 14 g m^-2, a phycobilin content in the biomass of 63 mg g^-1 and a phycobilin growth rate of 0.28 g m^-2 day^-1 for phycocyanin and 0.23 g m^-2 day^-1 for allophycocyanin. Addition of CO₂ was essential to enhance growth and phycobilin production in G. sulphuraria and further optimization of the cultivation process in the TL-PSBR appears possible using a multi-phase approach, higher growth temperatures and optimization of nutrient supply. It is concluded that autotrophic cultivation of G. sulphuraria in a TL-PSBR is an attractive alternative to suspension cultivation for phycobilin production and applications in bioremediation.

Multi-factor kinetic modelling of microalgal biomass cultivation for optimised lipid production

This paper presents a new quadruple-factor kinetic model of microalgal cultivation considering carbon and nitrogen concentration, light intensity and temperature, developed in conjunction with laboratory-scale experiments using the well-studied chlorophyte microalgal species Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Multi-parameter quantification was exploited to assess the predictive capabilities of the model. The validated model was utilized in an optimization study to determine the optimal light intensity and temperature for achieving maximum lipid productivity while using optimal acetate and nitrogen concentrations (2.1906 g L^-1 acetate and 0.0742 g L^-1 nitrogen) computed in a recent publication. It was found that the optimal lipid productivity increased by 50.9% compared to the base case, and by 13.6% compared to the previously computed optimal case. Optimization results were successfully validated experimentally. Such comprehensive modelling approaches can be exploited for robust design, scale-up and optimization of microalgal oil production, reducing operating costs and bringing this important technology closer to industrialization.