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Diaz CJ, Douglas KJ, Kang K, Kolarik AL, Malinovski R, Torres-Tiji Y, Molino JV, Badary A, Mayfield SP. Developing algae as a sustainable food source. Front Nutr 2023; 9:1029841. [PMID: 36742010 PMCID: PMC9892066 DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2022.1029841] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2022] [Accepted: 12/05/2022] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Current agricultural and food production practices are facing extreme stress, posed by climate change and an ever-increasing human population. The pressure to feed nearly 8 billion people while maintaining a minimal impact on the environment has prompted a movement toward new, more sustainable food sources. For thousands of years, both the macro (seaweed and kelp) and micro (unicellular) forms of algae have been cultivated as a food source. Algae have evolved to be highly efficient at resource utilization and have proven to be a viable source of nutritious biomass that could address many of the current food production issues. Particularly for microalgae, studies of their large-scale growth and cultivation come from the biofuel industry; however, this knowledge can be reasonably translated into the production of algae-based food products. The ability of algae to sequester CO2 lends to its sustainability by helping to reduce the carbon footprint of its production. Additionally, algae can be produced on non-arable land using non-potable water (including brackish or seawater), which allows them to complement rather than compete with traditional agriculture. Algae inherently have the desired qualities of a sustainable food source because they produce highly digestible proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates, and are rich in essential fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals. Although algae have yet to be fully domesticated as food sources, a variety of cultivation and breeding tools exist that can be built upon to allow for the increased productivity and enhanced nutritional and organoleptic qualities that will be required to bring algae to mainstream utilization. Here we will focus on microalgae and cyanobacteria to highlight the current advancements that will expand the variety of algae-based nutritional sources, as well as outline various challenges between current biomass production and large-scale economic algae production for the food market.
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Affiliation(s)
- Crisandra J. Diaz
- Mayfield Lab, Division of Biological Sciences, Department of Molecular Biology, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States
| | - Kai J. Douglas
- Mayfield Lab, Division of Biological Sciences, Department of Molecular Biology, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States
| | - Kalisa Kang
- Mayfield Lab, Division of Biological Sciences, Department of Molecular Biology, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States
| | - Ashlynn L. Kolarik
- Mayfield Lab, Division of Biological Sciences, Department of Molecular Biology, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States
| | - Rodeon Malinovski
- Mayfield Lab, Division of Biological Sciences, Department of Molecular Biology, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States
| | - Yasin Torres-Tiji
- Mayfield Lab, Division of Biological Sciences, Department of Molecular Biology, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States
| | - João V. Molino
- Mayfield Lab, Division of Biological Sciences, Department of Molecular Biology, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States
| | - Amr Badary
- Mayfield Lab, Division of Biological Sciences, Department of Molecular Biology, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States
| | - Stephen P. Mayfield
- Mayfield Lab, Division of Biological Sciences, Department of Molecular Biology, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States,California Center for Algae Biotechnology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States,*Correspondence: Stephen P. Mayfield,
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do Carmo Cesário C, Soares J, Cossolin JFS, Almeida AVM, Bermudez Sierra JJ, de Oliveira Leite M, Nunes MC, Serrão JE, Martins MA, Dos Reis Coimbra JS. Biochemical and morphological characterization of freshwater microalga Tetradesmus obliquus (Chlorophyta: Chlorophyceae). PROTOPLASMA 2022; 259:937-948. [PMID: 34643788 DOI: 10.1007/s00709-021-01712-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2021] [Accepted: 09/29/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Tetradesmus is a microalgal genus with biotechnological potential due to its rapid production of biomass, which is plenty in proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, and bioactives. However, its morphology and physiology need to be determined to guide better research to optimize the species cultivation and biocompounds processing. Thus, this study describes the biochemistry and morphology of the strain Tetradesmus obliquus BR003, isolated from a sample of freshwater reservoirs in a Brazilian municipality. In the T. obliquus BR003 dry biomass, we identified 61.6% unsaturated fatty acids, and 3.4% saturated fatty acids. Regarding other compounds, 28.50 ± 1.47 g soluble proteins/100 g, 0.14 ± 0.009 g carotenoids/100 g, 0.76 ± 0.013 g chlorophyll a/100 g, and 0.42 ± 0.015 g chlorophyll b/100 g with a chlorophyll a/b ratio of 1.8 were detected. The main chemical elements found were S, Mg, and P. The cells of BR003 were elliptically curved at the ends and without appendages. Histochemical tests showed carbohydrates distributed in the cytoplasm and pyrenoids, some lipid droplets, and proteins. The cytoplasm is rich in vacuoles, rough endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, and chloroplasts. The nucleus has a predominance of decondensed chromatin, and the cell wall has three layers. Chloroplasts have many starch granules and may be associated with a spherical central pyrenoid. To the best of our knowledge, this was the first biochemical description combined with ultrastructural morphological characterization of the strain T. obliquus BR003, grown under standard conditions, to demonstrate specific characteristics of the species.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jimmy Soares
- Department of Agricultural Engineering, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Brazil
| | | | | | | | | | - Maria Clara Nunes
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Brazil
| | - José Eduardo Serrão
- Department of General Biology, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Brazil.
| | - Marcio Arêdes Martins
- Department of Agricultural Engineering, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Brazil
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Qin L, Wang B, Feng P, Cao Y, Wang Z, Zhu S. Treatment and resource utilization of dairy liquid digestate by nitrification of biological aerated filter coupled with assimilation of Chlorella pyrenoidosa. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2022; 29:3406-3416. [PMID: 34389951 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-15903-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2021] [Accepted: 08/06/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Ammonia inhibition is considered a key issue when using liquid digestate for microalgae cultivation. To study the effect of pretreatment with a biological aerated filter (BAF) on microalgae culture with dairy liquid digestate, nitrification characteristics of BAFs under different hydraulic retention time (HRT) and the growth characteristics of Chlorella pyrenoidosa in effluents of BAFs were investigated. Results showed that the BAFs can rapidly nitrify ammonia nitrogen and significantly improve the light transmittance of liquid digestate (the maximum promotion rate was ~260%), and the effect improved as the HRT increased. Pretreatment of liquid digestate with BAFs can eliminate ammonia inhibition for C. pyrenoidosa. Furthermore, lipid, crude protein, and higher heating value (HHV) output were also not affected by HRT. The similar removal of nitrate nitrogen in microalgae culture systems using effluents with 6-h and 12-h HRT (21.59% and 21.07%, respectively) were recorded. The results suggested that BAF coupled with microalgae culture is a novel option on the resource utilization of dairy liquid digestate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Qin
- Henan Key Laboratory of Industrial Microbial Resources and Fermentation Technology, Nanyang Institute of Technology, Nanyang, 473004, China
- CAS Key Laboratory of Renewable Energy, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New and Renewable Energy Research and Development, Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510640, China
| | - Bo Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Renewable Energy, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New and Renewable Energy Research and Development, Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510640, China
| | - Pinzhong Feng
- CAS Key Laboratory of Renewable Energy, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New and Renewable Energy Research and Development, Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510640, China
| | - Yinghan Cao
- Henan Key Laboratory of Industrial Microbial Resources and Fermentation Technology, Nanyang Institute of Technology, Nanyang, 473004, China
| | - Zhongming Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Renewable Energy, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New and Renewable Energy Research and Development, Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510640, China.
| | - Shunni Zhu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Renewable Energy, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New and Renewable Energy Research and Development, Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510640, China.
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