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Applied Sciences
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Microalgae: Physiology, Biotechnology, and Industrial Applications
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Microalgae: Physiology, Biotechnology, and Industrial Applications

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Applied Biosciences and Bioengineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 September 2024 | Viewed by 7765

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Benoît Schoefs

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Guest Editor
Metabolism, Bioengineering of Microalgal Molecules and Applications (MIMMA), Mer Molécules Santé, Le Mans University, 72085 Le Mans, France
Interests: hotosynthesis; carotenoids; plant physiology; secondary metabolites; chlorophyll; stress physiology; microalgae
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Justine Marchand

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Metabolism, Bioengineering of Microalgal Molecules and Applications (MIMMA), Mer Molécules Santé, Le Mans University, 72085 Le Mans, France
Interests: microalgae; microalgal biotechnology; biopolymer; biomass
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The rise of the human population together with city swelling have increased the demand for natural resources to a point where alternative resources need to be developed to sustain future development. While autotrophic organisms constitute an alternative choice for the development of these new resources, trials with land plants have mostly resulted in a counterproductive competition for agricultural land use while rocking the inflation of food prices. To get around this, microalgae have been considered because (1) they can be grown in farmland-less systems, (2) they have a higher productivity than crop plants, (3) they produce a variety of unique compounds interesting for many industries, and (4) they can be used as cell factories in production platforms. Despite the tremendous progress in cultivation systems, the use of diatoms as cell factories remains in its infancy. The spontaneous release of metabolites in the growth medium being scarce, the extraction of biomolecules is mandatory, i.e., barriers such as the cell wall and membranes need to be broken for an efficient recovery through a dedicated downstream program. The actual cost of downstream process can reach up to 80% of the total production costs. The reduction in the production cost seems to require a paradigm shift in metabolite extraction processes. To reach this goal, a deeper knowledge of microalga functioning from molecular biology to physiology is crucial. This Special Issue welcomes manuscripts dealing with both basic and applied science related to the biotechnology and industrial applications from microalgae, including cyanobacteria.

Prof. Dr. Benoît Schoefs
Dr. Justine Marchand
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • biotechnology
  • physiology
  • pigment
  • carbohydrate
  • biomass
  • biomolecule
  • proteins
  • enzymes
  • food supplements
  • extraction
  • downstream processes
  • biofuel
  • cultivation
  • nutraceuticals
  • bioproduct
  • pharmaceuticals
  • cosmetic
  • biosystem

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 3293 KiB  
Article
Improved Production of Astaxanthin from Haematococcus pluvialis Using a Hybrid Open–Closed Cultivation System
by Yunji An, Taesoo Kim, Huijeong Byeon, Vijay Rayamajhi, Jihyun Lee, SangMok Jung and HyunWoung Shin
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(3), 1104; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app14031104 - 28 Jan 2024
Viewed by 1280
Abstract
Haematococcus species are rich sources of the antioxidant astaxanthin and have good potential for carbon dioxide reduction. A variety of culture systems for these microalgae are currently in development, but clearly profitable approaches have yet to be reported. Open outdoor culture is currently the [...] Read more.
Haematococcus species are rich sources of the antioxidant astaxanthin and have good potential for carbon dioxide reduction. A variety of culture systems for these microalgae are currently in development, but clearly profitable approaches have yet to be reported. Open outdoor culture is currently the only feasible culture system for producing large amounts of biomass. In this study, based on laboratory results, the cultivation of Haematococcus was divided into two stages: a green stage characterised by cell growth, and a red stage characterised by astaxanthin accumulation. For mass culture, we adopted a hybrid open–closed pond system for astaxanthin production. The open culture system was shown to produce approximately 50 kg (dry weight) of biomass per culture at an average rate of 0.51 g L−1, with 0.52 μg mL−1 of astaxanthin content in a 12 -m3 water tank. As large amounts of microalgal bioproducts are in high demand, inexpensive open outdoor culture methods should be adopted as an alternative to costly closed photobioreactors. Although the levels of biomass and astaxanthin production were found to be 30% lower in the field than in the laboratory in this study, the basic data obtained in this research may be useful for lowering astaxanthin production costs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microalgae: Physiology, Biotechnology, and Industrial Applications)
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13 pages, 3132 KiB  
Article
Optimization of Industrial-Scale Cultivation Conditions to Enhance the Nutritional Composition of Nontoxic Cyanobacterium Leptolyngbya sp. KIOST-1
by Won-Kyu Lee, Yong-Kyun Ryu, Taeho Kim, Areumi Park, Yeon-Ji Lee, Youngdeuk Lee, Ji Hyung Kim, Chulhong Oh, Do-Hyung Kang and Woon-Yong Choi
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(1), 282; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app14010282 - 28 Dec 2023
Viewed by 608
Abstract
Leptolyngbya sp. KIOST-1 has been proposed as a candidate species for use as a protein supplement due to its high protein content and absence of cytotoxicity. The species has also garnered attention due to the photosynthetic pigments it possesses. However, limited information is [...] Read more.
Leptolyngbya sp. KIOST-1 has been proposed as a candidate species for use as a protein supplement due to its high protein content and absence of cytotoxicity. The species has also garnered attention due to the photosynthetic pigments it possesses. However, limited information is available on its cultivation. Therefore, this study was conducted to identify the optimal culture medium and fundamental physiological properties of Leptolyngbya sp. KIOST-1 under various culture conditions. In this study, SOT (Society of Toxicology) medium was confirmed as the optimal culture medium for Leptolyngbya sp. KIOST-1 growth. The biomass production, protein content, and photosynthetic pigment content of Leptolyngbya sp. KIOST-1 were significantly higher in SOT medium. The use of this medium allowed for scaling up from laboratory (10 mL) to pilot (200 L) conditions and industrial-scale outdoor conditions (10,000 L), with the biomass containing over 66% protein. The phytochemical composition of Leptolyngbya sp. KIOST-1 cultured at laboratory and industrial-scales was discovered in this study. Furthermore, we observed that reducing the carbon and nitrogen sources to 1/5 of those supplied by the optimal medium did not significantly affect biomass production, and Leptolyngbya sp. KIOST-1 demonstrated favorable growth capabilities in a salinity range of 10–50 psu and at pH levels of 8.3 to 10.3. The results of this study demonstrate the suitability of Leptolyngbya sp. KIOST-1 for various industrial applications and its adaptability to large-scale cultivation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microalgae: Physiology, Biotechnology, and Industrial Applications)
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16 pages, 2489 KiB  
Article
Phaeodactylum tricornutum as Fucoxanthin Biofactory Model and Hepatoprotective Effect of Encapsulated Spirulina and Fucoxanthin
by Jesús Fidel Delgado-Ramallo, Laura Ceballos-Cuevas, María Álvarez-Gil, David Suárez-Montes, Víctor Casado-Bañares, Felipe Goñi-de-Cerio and Eduardo Rodríguez
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(13), 7794; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app13137794 - 01 Jul 2023
Viewed by 1136
Abstract
In recent decades, the worldwide production of microalgae has been carried out on an industrial scale. In recent years, the market for natural products has grown because of changes in consumer preferences for more natural products. The objective of this study was to [...] Read more.
In recent decades, the worldwide production of microalgae has been carried out on an industrial scale. In recent years, the market for natural products has grown because of changes in consumer preferences for more natural products. The objective of this study was to demonstrate the hepatoprotective capacity of fucoxanthin extract obtained from an industrial culture of the microalgae Phaeodactylum tricornutum (Culture Collection of Alga and Protists in Scotland). The microalga was grown in an artificial and natural seawater mixture (1:9), using Walne’s culture medium in columns and raceway photobioreactors (RWP) inside a greenhouse. The carotenoid content in the tested systems continued to increase from day 5 of the culture, when the stationary phase was reached. The final biomass powder contained 4.9 mg (2.59%) of pure fucoxanthin. The possible hepatoprotective activity of fucoxanthin was then studied in the HepG2 cell line for 24 h in culture, and compared with the cytotoxicity of methotrexate (MTX). In conclusion, the active ingredient showed hepatoprotective activity against MTX in the human hepatocyte cell line HEPG-2 at a concentration of 0.25 mg/mL. The current results also suggest that it has beneficial properties for liver health and is a suitable ingredient for all types of nutraceutical products. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microalgae: Physiology, Biotechnology, and Industrial Applications)
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12 pages, 727 KiB  
Article
The Diatom Cylindrotheca closterium and the Chlorophyll Breakdown Product Pheophorbide a for Photodynamic Therapy Applications
by Assunta Saide, Gennaro Riccio, Adrianna Ianora and Chiara Lauritano
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(4), 2590; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app13042590 - 17 Feb 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2042
Abstract
Microalgae, eukaryotic unicellular plants that are distributed worldwide, have been shown to exert anti-proliferative and anticancer activities on various human cancer cell lines. An example of a microalgal bioactive compound is a chlorophyll breakdown product named Pheophorbide a (Ppa), which has [...] Read more.
Microalgae, eukaryotic unicellular plants that are distributed worldwide, have been shown to exert anti-proliferative and anticancer activities on various human cancer cell lines. An example of a microalgal bioactive compound is a chlorophyll breakdown product named Pheophorbide a (Ppa), which has been reported to have anti-proliferative properties against various cell lines. This compound has also been tested with light exposure in photodynamic therapy for cancer treatment. In this paper, we screened eleven marine microalgae against a panel of cancer cells, and evaluated the synergistic anti-proliferative effect with Pheophorbide a, with and without photo-activation. The results showed significant anti-proliferative activity against melanoma cells when Ppa was combined with fraction E of the diatom Cylindrotheca closterium plus 1 h photo-activation. Its activity was also analyzed using gene expression and Western blot experiments. Altogether, these data give new insights into the possible application of microalgae for photodynamic therapy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microalgae: Physiology, Biotechnology, and Industrial Applications)
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16 pages, 1600 KiB  
Article
Dunaliella viridis TAV01: A Halotolerant, Protein-Rich Microalga from the Algarve Coast
by Gabriel Bombo, Nathana L. Cristofoli, Tamára F. Santos, Lisa Schüler, Inês B. Maia, Hugo Pereira, Luísa Barreira and João Varela
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(4), 2146; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app13042146 - 07 Feb 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1843
Abstract
Tolerance to harsh environmental conditions, high growth rates and an amino acid profile adequate for human consumption are beneficial features observed in Dunaliella viridis TAV01, a novel strain isolated from a salt pond in the Algarve, Portugal. TAV01 was identified down to the [...] Read more.
Tolerance to harsh environmental conditions, high growth rates and an amino acid profile adequate for human consumption are beneficial features observed in Dunaliella viridis TAV01, a novel strain isolated from a salt pond in the Algarve, Portugal. TAV01 was identified down to the species level by maximum likelihood and Bayesian phylogenetic analyses of the ribosomal internal transcribed spacers one and two regions (ITS1 and ITS-2) and was supported by ITS2 secondary structure analysis. The biochemical profile revealed high protein (35.7 g 100 g−1 DW; 65% higher than the minimum recommended by the World Health Organization) and lipid contents (21.3 g 100 g−1 DW), a relatively higher proportion of the polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), α-linolenic (26.3% of total fatty acids (TFA)) and linoleic acids (22.8% of TFA), compared to those of other Dunaliella strains, and a balanced essential amino acids profile containing significant levels of leucine, phenylalanine, valine, and threonine. The major carotenoid was lutein, making up over 85% of total carotenoids. The presence of high-quality natural products in D. viridis TAV01 offers the possibility of using this new strain as a valuable biological resource for novel feed or food products as ingredients or supplements. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microalgae: Physiology, Biotechnology, and Industrial Applications)
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