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Plants
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Cyanobacteria and Microalgae Biotechnologies
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Cyanobacteria and Microalgae Biotechnologies

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2021) | Viewed by 17556

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Laura Bruno

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biology, University of Rome 'Tor Vergata', Rome, Italy
Interests: cyanobacteria; microalgae; biodeterioration of cultural heritages; biomass production; biodiesel; bioremediation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Nicoletta La Rocca

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
Interests: cyanobacteria; microalgae; bioactive compounds; high-value products; carbon dioxide sequestration; culture systems improvement

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Cyanobacteria and microalgae are photosynthetic microorganisms dwelling in various environments with high biodiversity and great capacity to adapt to different environmental conditions. Cyanobacteria are prokaryotic microorganisms, while microalgae belong to the Eukarya domain. Due to their photosynthetic activity, both groups play a fundamental role in biological carbon dioxide sequestration and nutrient cycling. Thanks to their high biodiversity, cyanobacteria and microalgae find a wide spectrum of applications in different fields ranging from the energy sector, being a source of biodiesel, to human food and animal feed and for the production of high-value products due to their contents of polysaccharides, proteins, lipids, minerals, vitamins, and secondary metabolites. Applications are also possible in the bioremediation of various types of wastewater, in agriculture as bio-stimulants or soil recovery, and in the aerospace sector. Research in this field has recently seen a boost, but this is still an open field searching for innovations in the development of optimal growth systems, the increase of biomass production, the selection and genetic engineering of cyanobacteria and microalgae strains, and the optimization of high-value bio-compound production.

This Special Issue on ‘Cyanobacteria and Microalgae Biotechnologies’ in Plants aims to collect research articles and short communications from scientists all over the world to provide an overview of the potential of biotechnologies applied to cyanobacteria and microalgae.

Dr. Laura Bruno
Prof. Nicoletta La Rocca
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. Plants 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 2700 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

  • culture systems
  • mass culture
  • genetic engineering
  • bioactive compounds
  • food applications
  • wastewaters
  • biodiesel
  • carbon dioxide sequestration
  • high-value products

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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29 pages, 2322 KiB  
Article
Potential of the Red Alga Dixoniella grisea for the Production of Additives for Lubricants
by Antonio Gavalás-Olea, Antje Siol, Yvonne Sakka, Jan Köser, Nina Nentwig, Thomas Hauser, Juliane Filser, Jorg Thöming and Imke Lang
Plants 2021, 10(9), 1836; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10091836 - 04 Sep 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2342
Abstract
There is an increasing interest in algae-based raw materials for medical, cosmetic or nutraceutical applications. Additionally, the high diversity of physicochemical properties of the different algal metabolites proposes these substances from microalgae as possible additives in the chemical industry. Among the wide range [...] Read more.
There is an increasing interest in algae-based raw materials for medical, cosmetic or nutraceutical applications. Additionally, the high diversity of physicochemical properties of the different algal metabolites proposes these substances from microalgae as possible additives in the chemical industry. Among the wide range of natural products from red microalgae, research has mainly focused on extracellular polymers for additive use, while this study also considers the cellular components. The aim of the present study is to analytically characterize the extra- and intracellular molecular composition from the red microalga Dixoniella grisea and to evaluate its potential for being used in the tribological industry. D. grisea samples, fractionated into extracellular polymers (EPS), cells and medium, were examined for their molecular composition. This alga produces a highly viscous polymer, mainly composed of polysaccharides and proteins, being secreted into the culture medium. The EPS and biomass significantly differed in their molecular composition, indicating that they might be used for different bio-additive products. We also show that polysaccharides and proteins were the major chemical compounds in EPS, whereas the content of lipids depended on the separation protocol and the resulting product. Still, they did not represent a major group and were thus classified as a potential valuable side-product. Lyophilized algal fractions obtained from D. grisea were found to be not toxic when EPS were not included. Upon implementation of EPS as a commercial product, further assessment on the environmental toxicity to enchytraeids and other soil organisms is required. Our results provide a possible direction for developing a process to gain an environmentally friendly bio-additive for application in the tribological industry based on a biorefinery approach. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cyanobacteria and Microalgae Biotechnologies)
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13 pages, 2122 KiB  
Article
Exploiting the Potential in Water Cleanup from Metals and Nutrients of Desmodesmus sp. and Ampelodesmos mauritanicus
by Roberto Braglia, Lorenza Rugnini, Sara Malizia, Francesco Scuderi, Enrico Luigi Redi, Antonella Canini and Laura Bruno
Plants 2021, 10(7), 1461; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10071461 - 16 Jul 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1910
Abstract
Increasing levels of freshwater contaminants, mainly due to anthropogenic activities, have resulted in a great deal of interest in finding new eco-friendly, cost-effective and efficient methods for remediating polluted waters. The aim of this work was to assess the feasibility of using a [...] Read more.
Increasing levels of freshwater contaminants, mainly due to anthropogenic activities, have resulted in a great deal of interest in finding new eco-friendly, cost-effective and efficient methods for remediating polluted waters. The aim of this work was to assess the feasibility of using a green microalga Desmodesmus sp., a cyanobacterium Nostoc sp. and a hemicryptophyte Ampelodesmos mauritanicus to bioremediate a water polluted with an excess of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) and heavy metals (copper and nickel). We immediately determined that Nostoc sp. was sensitive to metal toxicity, and thus Desmodesmus sp. was chosen for sequential tests with A. mauritanicus. First, A. mauritanicus plants were grown in the ‘polluted’ culture medium for seven days and were, then, substituted by Desmodesmus sp. for a further seven days (14 days in total). Heavy metals were shown to negatively affect both the growth rates and nutrient removal capacity. The sequential approach resulted in high metal removal rates in the single metal solutions up to 74% for Cu and 85% for Ni, while, in the bi-metal solutions, the removal rates were lower and showed a bias for Cu uptake. Single species controls showed better outcomes; however, further studies are necessary to investigate the behavior of new species. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cyanobacteria and Microalgae Biotechnologies)
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24 pages, 8313 KiB  
Article
Low Crystallinity of Poly(3-Hydroxybutyrate-co-3-Hydroxyvalerate) Bioproduction by Hot Spring Cyanobacterium Cyanosarcina sp. AARL T020
by Kittipat Chotchindakun, Wasu Pathom-Aree, Kanchana Dumri, Jetsada Ruangsuriya, Chayakorn Pumas and Jeeraporn Pekkoh
Plants 2021, 10(3), 503; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10030503 - 08 Mar 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2592
Abstract
The poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) derived from cyanobacteria is an environmentally friendly biodegradable polymer. The low yield of PHBV’s production is the main hindrance to its sustainable production, and the manipulation of PHBV production processes could potentially overcome this obstacle. The present research investigated evolutionarily [...] Read more.
The poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) derived from cyanobacteria is an environmentally friendly biodegradable polymer. The low yield of PHBV’s production is the main hindrance to its sustainable production, and the manipulation of PHBV production processes could potentially overcome this obstacle. The present research investigated evolutionarily divergent cyanobacteria obtained from local environments of Thailand. Among the strains tested, Cyanosarcina sp. AARL T020, a hot spring cyanobacterium, showed a high rate of PHBV accumulation with a fascinating 3-hydroxyvalerate mole fraction. A two-stage cultivation strategy with sole organic carbon supplementation was successful in maximizing cyanobacterial PHBV production. The use of an optimized medium in the first stage of cultivation provided a 4.9-fold increase in biomass production. Subsequently, the addition of levulinic acid in the second stage of cultivation can induce significant biomass and PHBV production. With this strategy, the final biomass production and PHBV productivity were increased by 6.5 and 73.2 fold, respectively. The GC-MS, FTIR, and NMR analyses confirmed that the obtained PHBV consisted of two subunits of 3-hydroxyvaryrate and 3-hydroxybutyrate. Interestingly, the cyanobacterial PHBV contained a very high 3-hydroxyvalerate mole fraction (94%) exhibiting a low degree of crystallinity and expanding in processability window, which could be applied to polymers for desirable advanced applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cyanobacteria and Microalgae Biotechnologies)
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12 pages, 835 KiB  
Article
A Study on the Effect of Macro- and Micro- Nutrients on Nannochloropsis oceanica Growth, Fatty Acid Composition and Magnetic Harvesting Efficiency
by Maria G. Savvidou, Elenitsa Boli, Dimitrios Logothetis, Theopisti Lymperopoulou, Angelo Ferraro, Vasiliki Louli, Diomi Mamma, Dimitris Kekos, Kostis Magoulas and Fragiskos N. Kolisis
Plants 2020, 9(5), 660; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants9050660 - 23 May 2020
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3298
Abstract
The effect of iron, manganese, phosphorus and nitrogen on growth and lipid synthesis of the microalgae Nannochloropsis oceanica CCMP1779, as well as their impact on the magnetic harvesting efficiency, are examined under their depriving cell culture conditions. Herein, it is demonstrated that nitrogen [...] Read more.
The effect of iron, manganese, phosphorus and nitrogen on growth and lipid synthesis of the microalgae Nannochloropsis oceanica CCMP1779, as well as their impact on the magnetic harvesting efficiency, are examined under their depriving cell culture conditions. Herein, it is demonstrated that nitrogen and manganese depletion primarily reduced cell growth while phosphorus and iron restriction led to higher dry biomass. Subsequently, the role of those nutrients on fatty acids profile was examined. Phosphorus and nitrogen restriction resulted in lower and higher lipid content, respectively. High amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acids like eicosapentaenoic acid are produced under iron and manganese depletion. Phosphorus deprivation favors monounsaturated fatty acids such as C18:1 and C16:1, while nitrogen restriction favors saturated fatty acid production like C14:0, C16:0 and C18:0. Since the presence/absence of macro- and micro-elements may affect the overall electrostatic charges on the outmost microalgae surface, it was also analyzed how these elements affect the magnetic harvesting efficiency. Results showed that phosphorus deprivation led to the best magnetic harvesting efficiency of N. oceanica cells (93%) as compared to other nutrient starvation as well as standard medium. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cyanobacteria and Microalgae Biotechnologies)
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Review

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22 pages, 735 KiB  
Review
Plant Biostimulants from Cyanobacteria: An Emerging Strategy to Improve Yields and Sustainability in Agriculture
by Gaia Santini, Natascia Biondi, Liliana Rodolfi and Mario R. Tredici
Plants 2021, 10(4), 643; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10040643 - 29 Mar 2021
Cited by 50 | Viewed by 6338
Abstract
Cyanobacteria can be considered a promising source for the development of new biostimulants as they are known to produce a variety of biologically active molecules that can positively affect plant growth, nutrient use efficiency, qualitative traits of the final product, and increase plant [...] Read more.
Cyanobacteria can be considered a promising source for the development of new biostimulants as they are known to produce a variety of biologically active molecules that can positively affect plant growth, nutrient use efficiency, qualitative traits of the final product, and increase plant tolerance to abiotic stresses. Moreover, the cultivation of cyanobacteria in controlled and confined systems, along with their metabolic plasticity, provides the possibility to improve and standardize composition and effects on plants of derived biostimulant extracts or hydrolysates, which is one of the most critical aspects in the production of commercial biostimulants. Faced with these opportunities, research on biostimulant properties of cyanobacteria has undergone a significant growth in recent years. However, research in this field is still scarce, especially as regards the number of investigated cyanobacterial species. Future research should focus on reducing the costs of cyanobacterial biomass production and plant treatment and on identifying the molecules that mediate the biostimulant effects in order to optimize their content and stability in the final product. Furthermore, the extension of agronomic trials to a wider number of plant species, different application doses, and environmental conditions would allow the development of tailored microbial biostimulants, thus facilitating the diffusion of these products among farmers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cyanobacteria and Microalgae Biotechnologies)
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