Abstract
A matrix of photobioreactors integrated with metabolic sensors was used to examine the combined impact of light and temperature variations on the growth and physiology of the biofuel candidate microalgal species Nannochloropsis oculata. The experiments were performed with algal cultures maintained at a constant 20°C versus a 15°C to 25°C diel temperature cycle, where light intensity also followed a diel cycle with a maximum irradiance of 1920 µmol photons m−2 s−1. No differences in algal growth (Chlorophyll a) were found between the two environmental regimes; however, the metabolic processes responded differently throughout the day to the change in environmental conditions. The variable temperature treatment resulted in greater damage to photosystem II due to the combined effect of strong light and high temperature. Cellular functions responded differently to conditions before midday as opposed to the afternoon, leading to strong hysteresis in dissolved oxygen concentration, quantum yield of photosystem II and net photosynthesis. Overnight metabolism performed differently, probably as a result of the temperature impact on respiration. Our photobioreactor matrix has produced novel insights into the physiological response of Nannochloropsis oculata to simulated environmental conditions. This information can be used to predict the effectiveness of deploying Nannochloropsis oculata in similar field conditions for commercial biofuel production.
Highlights
Algal Biofuel Production with Nannochloropsis Microalgae have the potential to produce sustainable and affordable transport fuels for the future
N. oculata Growth Three different techniques, microscopic cell counts, in vitro Chlorophyll a (Chl a) extraction and in vivo Chl a fluorometry were used to measure the growth of N. oculata cultures under constant and sinusoidal temperature regimes (Figure 2)
The growth and physiology of the biofuel candidate microalgal species N. oculata was examined under two different temperature regimes: constant temperature at 20uC and sinusoidal temperature varying between 15uC and 25uC
Summary
Algal Biofuel Production with Nannochloropsis Microalgae have the potential to produce sustainable and affordable transport fuels for the future. These unicellular photosynthetic organisms capture light energy and use it to fix atmospheric carbon dioxide into proteins, carbohydrates and lipids. Lipid production is the primary focus of the algal biofuels industry [2,3], but other biofuel precursors such as terpenes are under development [4] These secondary metabolites store chemical energy, and they can be chemically processed into biodiesel and aviation fuel [5,6]. The genome sequence of Nannochloropsis species is known, and a genetic transformation method utilising homologous recombination in Nannochloropsis has been demonstrated [7], opening up new possibilities in biofuels research using Nannochloropsis
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