Enhanced Algal Photosynthetic Photon Efficiency by Pulsed Light

Photon statistics and unicellular algae cultivation characteristics under continuous illumination

Despite the complexity of the photosynthetic system, a simple explanation is proposed for the photon-flux density dependence of P-I curves (biomass production rate versus flux density) and electron transfer rate curves (delivery transfer rate of excited electrons from PS II, the first stage of the photosynthetic process, to the second stage, PS I, versus flux density). It is shown that the photon-flux density dependence of these two entities is a direct consequence of the stochastic nature of photon arrival times on the chlorophyll antenna of PS II, the existence of a rate-limiting time scale of about 10 ms in the operation of the photosystem, and the magnitude of the average photon absorption cross-sectional area of the chlorophyll antennae.

Exceptional Quantum Efficiency Powers Biomass Production in Halotolerant Algae Picochlorum sp.. PHOTOSYNTHESIS RESEARCH 2024;162:439-457. [PMID: 38329705 DOI: 10.1007/s11120-024-01075-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0]

The green algal genus Picochlorum is of biotechnological interest because of its robust response to multiple environmental stresses. We compared the metabolic performance of P. SE3 and P. oklahomense to diverse microbial phototrophs and observed exceptional performance of photosystem II (PSII) in light energy conversion in both Picochlorum species. The quantum yield (QY) for O2 evolution is the highest of any phototroph yet observed, 32% (20%) by P. SE3 (P. okl) when normalized to total PSII subunit PsbA (D1) protein, and 80% (75%) normalized per active PSII, respectively. Three factors contribute: (1) an efficient water oxidizing complex (WOC) with the fewest photochemical misses of any organism; (2) faster reoxidation of reduced (PQH2)B in P. SE3 than in P. okl. (period-2 Fourier amplitude); and (3) rapid reoxidation of the plastoquinol pool by downstream electron carriers (Cyt b6f/PETC) that regenerates PQ faster in P. SE3. This performance gain is achieved without significant residue changes around the QB site and thus points to a pull mechanism involving faster PQH2 reoxidation by Cyt b6f/PETC that offsets charge recombination. This high flux in P. SE3 may be explained by genomically encoded plastoquinol terminal oxidases 1 and 2, whereas P. oklahomense has neither. Our results suggest two distinct types of PSII centers exist, one specializing in linear electron flow and the other in PSII-cyclic electron flow. Several amino acids within D1 differ from those in the low-light-descended D1 sequences conserved in Viridiplantae, and more closely match those in cyanobacterial high-light D1 isoforms, including changes near tyrosine Yz and a water/proton channel near the WOC. These residue changes may contribute to the exceptional performance of Picochlorum at high-light intensities by increasing the water oxidation efficiency and the electron/proton flux through the PSII acceptors (QAQB).

High-intensity pulsed-light cultivation of unicellular algae: Photosynthesis continues in the dark

Experiments have shown that photon exploitation efficiency in unicellular algal biomass production under a pulsed-light regime with a high-photon flux is higher than the efficiency under continuous illumination with the same flux. This observation has been explained theoretically to be a consequence of the improved efficiency of exploitation of photons by Photosystem II (PS II) thanks to the combined effect of photon-absorption statistics, a rate-limiting time scale and the size of the PQ pool. Exploiting the same ideas, it is shown in this paper that, under a pulsed-light regime, there is a pulse-time length, for which the average exploitation efficiency of PS II absorbed photons is maximal. Under ideal conditions, this maximum is close to 100%. The optimal pulse-time length is roughly proportional to the size of the PQ pool, NPQ. This is clearly seen for τ (the average time gap between consecutive photons absorbed by the PS II-Chlorophyll antenna) of the order of 1 ms or less (corresponding to a high photon flux and/or a large photon absorption cross-section area of the antenna) and for small NPQ. The width of the plot of efficiency vs. pulse length around the optimum is then small and the optimal pulse length is well defined. As τ is increased beyond 1 or NPQ becomes large, the width grows, allowing for a broad choice of pulse lengths, for which efficiency is very close to the maximum. These observations open the door to future designs of highly productive bioreactors.

Genomic analysis of an ultrasmall freshwater green alga, Medakamo hakoo

Ultrasmall algae have attracted the attention of biologists investigating the basic mechanisms underlying living systems. Their potential as effective organisms for producing useful substances is also of interest in bioindustry. Although genomic information is indispensable for elucidating metabolism and promoting molecular breeding, many ultrasmall algae remain genetically uncharacterized. Here, we present the nuclear genome sequence of an ultrasmall green alga of freshwater habitats, Medakamo hakoo. Evolutionary analyses suggest that this species belongs to a new genus within the class Trebouxiophyceae. Sequencing analyses revealed that its genome, comprising 15.8 Mbp and 7629 genes, is among the smallest known genomes in the Viridiplantae. Its genome has relatively few genes associated with genetic information processing, basal transcription factors, and RNA transport. Comparative analyses revealed that 1263 orthogroups were shared among 15 ultrasmall algae from distinct phylogenetic lineages. The shared gene sets will enable identification of genes essential for algal metabolism and cellular functions.

Year-round sustainable biomass production potential of Nannochloris sp. in outdoor raceway pond enabled through strategic photobiological screening

Microalgae cultivation utilizes the energy of sunlight to reduce carbon dioxide (CO₂) for producing renewable energy feedstock. The commercial success of the biological fixation of carbon in a consistent manner depends upon the availability of a robust microalgae strain. In the present work, we report the identification of a novel marine Nannochloris sp. through multiparametric photosynthetic evaluation. Detailed photobiological analysis of this strain has revealed a smaller functional antenna, faster relaxation kinetics of non-photochemical quenching, and a high photosynthetic rate with increasing light and temperatures. Furthermore, laboratory scale growth assessment demonstrated a broad range halotolerance of 10-70 parts per thousand (PPT) and high-temperature tolerance up to 45 °C. Such traits led to the translation of biomass productivity potential from the laboratory scale (0.2-3.0 L) to the outdoor 50,000 L raceway pond scale (500-m²) without any pond crashes. The current investigation revealed outdoor single-day peak areal biomass productivity of 43 g m^-2 d^-1 in summer with an annual (March 2019-February 2020) average productivity of 20 g m^-2 d^-1 in seawater. From a sustainability perspective, this is the first report of successful round-the-year (> 347 days) multi-season (summer, monsoon, and winter) outdoor cultivation of Nannochloris sp. in broad seawater salinity (1-57 PPT), wide temperature ranges (15-40 °C), and in fluctuating light conditions. Concurrently, outdoor cultivation of this strain demonstrated conducive fatty acid distribution, including increased unsaturated fatty acids in winter. This inherent characteristic might play a role in protecting photosynthesis machinery at low temperatures and in high light stress. Altogether, our marine Nannochloris sp. showed tremendous potential for commercial scale cultivation to produce biofuels, food ingredients, and a sustainable source for vegetarian protein.

Light intensity affects tolerance of pyrene in Chlorella vulgaris and Scenedesmus acutus

The impact of light intensity on the toxicity of pyrene, a 4-ring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), was studied in Chlorella vulgaris and Scenedesmus acutus. Both species were cultured under low light, LL [50-60 μmol(photon) m-2 s-1], and high light, HL [100-110 μmol(photon) m-2 s-1] conditions to study the effects of pyrene (PYR) toxicity on growth parameters, the content of biomolecules, chlorophyll content, and photosynthetic efficiency. In the presence of PYR, S. acutus could grow well in LL and HL intensity. On the other hand, C. vulgaris showed a drastic decrease in growth and photosynthesis during HL conditions due to PYR toxicity. Regulation of nonphotochemical and photochemical quenching was responsible for the survival of S. acutus under PYR toxicity in LL and HL conditions. Thus, S. acutus seems to be a more promising candidate for pyrene degradation under varying light conditions.

Microalgae growth in ultra-thin steady-state continuous photobioreactors: assessing self-shading effects

To disclose the net effect of light on microalgal growth in photobioreactors, self-shading and mixing-induced light–dark cycles must be minimized and discerned from the transient phenomena of acclimation. In this work, we performed experiments of continuous microalgal cultivation in small-scale photobioreactors with different thicknesses (from 2 to 35 mm): working at a steady state allowed us to describe the effect of light after acclimation, while the geometry of the reactor was adjusted to find the threshold light path that can discriminate different phenomena. Experiments showed an increased inhibition under smaller culture light paths, suggesting a strong shading effect at thicknesses higher than 8 mm where mixing-induced light–dark cycles may occur. A Haldane-like model was applied and kinetic parameters retrieved, showing possible issues in the scalability of experimental results at different light paths if mixing-induced light–dark cycles are not considered. To further highlight the influence of mixing cycles, we proposed an analogy between small-scale operations with continuous light and PBR operations with pulsed light, with the computation of characteristic parameters from pulsed-light microalgae growth mathematical modeling.

Recent Progress on Systems and Synthetic Biology of Diatoms for Improving Algal Productivity

Microalgae have drawn much attention for their potential applications as a sustainable source for developing bioactive compounds, functional foods, feeds, and biofuels. Diatoms, as one major group of microalgae with high yields and strong adaptability to the environment, have shown advantages in developing photosynthetic cell factories to produce value-added compounds, including heterologous bioactive products. However, the commercialization of diatoms has encountered several obstacles that limit the potential mass production, such as the limitation of algal productivity and low photosynthetic efficiency. In recent years, systems and synthetic biology have dramatically improved the efficiency of diatom cell factories. In this review, we discussed first the genome sequencing and genome-scale metabolic models (GEMs) of diatoms. Then, approaches to optimizing photosynthetic efficiency are introduced with a focus on the enhancement of biomass productivity in diatoms. We also reviewed genome engineering technologies, including CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) gene-editing to produce bioactive compounds in diatoms. Finally, we summarized the recent progress on the diatom cell factory for producing heterologous compounds through genome engineering to introduce foreign genes into host diatoms. This review also pinpointed the bottlenecks in algal engineering development and provided critical insights into the future direction of algal production.

Influence of Light Conditions on Microalgae Growth and Content of Lipids, Carotenoids, and Fatty Acid Composition

Microalgae are a valuable natural resource for a variety of value-added products. The growth of microalgae is determined by the impact of many factors, but, from the point of view of the implementation of autotrophic growth, light is of primary importance. This work presents an overview of the influence of light conditions on the growth of microalgae, the content of lipids, carotenoids, and the composition of fatty acids in their biomass, taking into account parameters such as the intensity, duration of lighting, and use of rays of different spectral composition. The optimal light intensity for the growth of microalgae lies in the following range: 26-400 µmol photons m-2 s-1. An increase in light intensity leads to an activation of lipid synthesis. For maximum lipid productivity, various microalgae species and strains need lighting of different intensities: from 60 to 700 µmol photons m-2 s-1. Strong light preferentially increases the triacylglyceride content. The intensity of lighting has a regulating effect on the synthesis of fatty acids, carotenoids, including β-carotene, lutein and astaxanthin. In intense lighting conditions, saturated fatty acids usually accumulate, as well as monounsaturated ones, and the number of polyunsaturated fatty acids decreases. Red as well as blue LED lighting improves the biomass productivity of microalgae of various taxonomic groups. Changing the duration of the photoperiod, the use of pulsed light can stimulate microalgae growth, the production of lipids, and carotenoids. The simultaneous use of light and other stresses contributes to a stronger effect on the productivity of algae.