Recent progress and future challenges in algal biofuel production
Modern society is fueled by fossil energy produced millions of years ago by photosynthetic organisms. Cultivating contemporary photosynthetic producers to generate energy and capture carbon from the atmosphere is one potential approach to sustaining society without disrupting the climate. Algae, pho...
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F1000Research
2016
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| Online Access: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5054820/ |
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pubmed-50548202016-10-24 Recent progress and future challenges in algal biofuel production Shurin, Jonathan B. Burkart, Michael D. Mayfield, Stephen P. Smith, Val H. Review Modern society is fueled by fossil energy produced millions of years ago by photosynthetic organisms. Cultivating contemporary photosynthetic producers to generate energy and capture carbon from the atmosphere is one potential approach to sustaining society without disrupting the climate. Algae, photosynthetic aquatic microorganisms, are the fastest growing primary producers in the world and can therefore produce more energy with less land, water, and nutrients than terrestrial plant crops. We review recent progress and challenges in developing bioenergy technology based on algae. A variety of high-value products in addition to biofuels can be harvested from algal biomass, and these may be key to developing algal biotechnology and realizing the commercial potential of these organisms. Aspects of algal biology that differentiate them from plants demand an integrative approach based on genetics, cell biology, ecology, and evolution. We call for a systems approach to research on algal biotechnology rooted in understanding their biology, from the level of genes to ecosystems, and integrating perspectives from physical, chemical, and social sciences to solve one of the most critical outstanding technological problems. F1000Research 2016-10-04 /pmc/articles/PMC5054820/ /pubmed/27781084 http://dx.doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.9217.1 Text en Copyright: © 2016 Shurin JB et al. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| repository_type |
Open Access Journal |
| institution_category |
Foreign Institution |
| institution |
US National Center for Biotechnology Information |
| building |
NCBI PubMed |
| collection |
Online Access |
| language |
English |
| format |
Online |
| author |
Shurin, Jonathan B. Burkart, Michael D. Mayfield, Stephen P. Smith, Val H. |
| spellingShingle |
Shurin, Jonathan B. Burkart, Michael D. Mayfield, Stephen P. Smith, Val H. Recent progress and future challenges in algal biofuel production |
| author_facet |
Shurin, Jonathan B. Burkart, Michael D. Mayfield, Stephen P. Smith, Val H. |
| author_sort |
Shurin, Jonathan B. |
| title |
Recent progress and future challenges in algal biofuel production |
| title_short |
Recent progress and future challenges in algal biofuel production |
| title_full |
Recent progress and future challenges in algal biofuel production |
| title_fullStr |
Recent progress and future challenges in algal biofuel production |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Recent progress and future challenges in algal biofuel production |
| title_sort |
recent progress and future challenges in algal biofuel production |
| description |
Modern society is fueled by fossil energy produced millions of years ago by photosynthetic organisms. Cultivating contemporary photosynthetic producers to generate energy and capture carbon from the atmosphere is one potential approach to sustaining society without disrupting the climate. Algae, photosynthetic aquatic microorganisms, are the fastest growing primary producers in the world and can therefore produce more energy with less land, water, and nutrients than terrestrial plant crops. We review recent progress and challenges in developing bioenergy technology based on algae. A variety of high-value products in addition to biofuels can be harvested from algal biomass, and these may be key to developing algal biotechnology and realizing the commercial potential of these organisms. Aspects of algal biology that differentiate them from plants demand an integrative approach based on genetics, cell biology, ecology, and evolution. We call for a systems approach to research on algal biotechnology rooted in understanding their biology, from the level of genes to ecosystems, and integrating perspectives from physical, chemical, and social sciences to solve one of the most critical outstanding technological problems. |
| publisher |
F1000Research |
| publishDate |
2016 |
| url |
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5054820/ |
| _version_ |
1613676656997695488 |