Journal Article

Impact of organic carbon acquisition on growth and functional biomolecule production in diatoms

Raya Bhattacharjya, Thomas Kiran Marella, Archana Tiwari

2021

Overview

Diatoms are unicellular photosynthetic protists which constitute one of the most successful microalgae contributing enormously to global primary productivity and nutrient cycles in marine and freshwater habitats. Though they possess the ability to biosynthesize high value compounds like eicosatetraenoic acid (EPA), fucoxanthin (Fx) and chrysolaminarin (Chrl) the major bottle neck in commercialization is their inability to attain high density growth. However, their unique potential of acquiring diverse carbon sources via varied mechanisms enables them to adapt and grow under phototrophic, mixotrophic as well as heterotrophic modes. Growth on organic carbon substrates promotes higher biomass, lipid, and carbohydrate productivity, which further triggers the yield of various biomolecules. Since, the current mass culture practices primarily employ open pond and tubular photobioreactors for phototrophic growth, they become cost intensive and economically non-viable. Therefore, in this review we attempt to explore and compare the mechanisms involved in organic carbon acquisition in diatoms and its implications on mixotrophic and heterotrophic growth and biomolecule production and validate how these strategies could pave a way for future exploration and establishment of sustainable diatom biorefineries for novel biomolecules.

• Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC,BioMed Central,BioMed Central Ltd,Springer Nature B.V,BMC
• Subject: Adaptability / Algae / Applied Microbiology / Aquatic habitats / Assimilation / Bacillariophyceae / Bioaccumulation / Biodiesel fuels / Biomass / Biomolecules / Biorefineries / Biotechnology / Carbohydrates / Carbon / Carbon - metabolism / Carbon acquisition / Carbon sources / Chemistry / Chemistry and Materials Science / Chloroplasts / Commercialization / Diatoms / Diatoms - chemistry / Diatoms - genetics / Diatoms - growth & development / Diatoms - metabolism / Enzymes / Enzymology / Freshwater environments / Fucoxanthin / Gene expression / Genetic Engineering / Glucose / Glycerol / Heterotrophic growth / Heterotrophic Processes / Heterotrophy / Industrial microorganisms / Kinases / Light / Lipids / Marine microorganisms / Metabolism / Metabolites / Microbial Genetics and Genomics / Microbial glycobiotechnology / Microbiological research / Microbiological synthesis / Microbiology / Mitochondria / Mixotrophy / Nutrient cycles / Nutrition / Organic carbon / Photobioreactors / Photosynthesis / Phototrophic Processes / Physiological aspects / Production processes / Productivity / QR1-502 / Respiration / Review / Substrates