Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Padova, Via U. Bassi 58b, 35121 Padova, Italy.
Biophys Chem. 2013 Dec 1;182:71-8. doi: 10.1016/j.bpc.2013.06.017. Epub 2013 Jul 4.
A major challenge for next decades is development of competitive renewable energy sources, highly needed to compensate fossil fuels reserves and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Among different possibilities, which are currently under investigation, there is the exploitation of unicellular algae for production of biofuels and biodiesel in particular. Some algae species have the ability of accumulating large amount of lipids within their cells which can be exploited as feedstock for the production of biodiesel. Strong research efforts are however still needed to fulfill this potential and optimize cultivation systems and biomass harvesting. Light provides the energy supporting algae growth and available radiation must be exploited with the highest possible efficiency to optimize productivity and make microalgae large scale cultivation energetically and economically sustainable. Investigation of the molecular bases influencing light use efficiency is thus seminal for the success of this biotechnology. In this work factors influencing light use efficiency in algal biomass production are reviewed, focusing on how algae genetic engineering and control of light environment within photobioreactors can improve the productivity of large scale cultivation systems.
未来几十年的一个主要挑战是开发有竞争力的可再生能源，这对于补偿化石燃料储量和减少温室气体排放非常必要。在目前正在研究的不同可能性中，有一种利用单细胞藻类生产生物燃料和生物柴油的方法。一些藻类物种具有在其细胞内积累大量脂质的能力，这些脂质可以作为生产生物柴油的原料加以利用。然而，为了实现这一潜力并优化培养系统和生物质收获，仍需要进行大量的研究工作。光为藻类生长提供能量，必须尽可能高效地利用可用辐射，以优化生产力，使微藻的大规模养殖在能量和经济上具有可持续性。因此，研究影响光能利用效率的分子基础对于这项生物技术的成功至关重要。本文综述了影响藻类生物质生产中光能利用效率的因素，重点讨论了藻类遗传工程和光生物反应器内光环境控制如何提高大规模养殖系统的生产力。
