Microalgae–bacteria symbiosis in microalgal growth and biofuel production: A review
Open accessAbstract
Photosynthetic microalgae can capture solar energy and convert it to bioenergy and biochemical products. In nature or industrial processes, microalgae live together with bacterial communities and may maintain symbiotic relationships. In general interactions, microalgae exude dissolved organic carbon that becomes available to bacteria. In return, the bacteria remineralize sulphur, nitrogen and phosphorous to support the further growth of microalgae. In specific interactions, heterotrophic bacteria supply B vitamins as organic cofactors or produce siderophores to bind iron, which could be utilized by microalgae, while the algae supply fixed carbon to the bacteria in return. In this review, we focus on mutualistic relationship between microalgae and bacteria, summarizing recent studies on the mechanisms involved in microalgae-bacteria symbiosis. Symbiotic bacteria on promoting microalgal growth are described and the relevance of microalgae-bacteria interactions for biofuel production processes is discussed. Symbiotic microalgae-bacteria consortia could be utilized to improve microalgal biomass production and to enrich the biomass with valuable chemical and energy compounds. The suitable control of such biological interactions between microalgae and bacteria will help to improve the microalgae-based biomass and biofuel production in the future.
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Microalgae-bacteria consortia have been explored as an alternative route to enhancing microalgae growth and metabolite production because growth-promoting factors are produced by bacteria.
“Since these growth-promoting factors are produced by bacteria, microalgae–bacteria consortia have been explored as an alternative route to enhancing microalgae growth and metabolite production [9,10].”
From Toward the Enhancement of Microalgal Metabolite Production through Microalgae–Bacteria Consortia (2021) · cites this paper as [9]
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- Authors
- Yao, S., Lyu, S., An, Y., Lu, J., Gjermansen, C., & Schramm, A.
- Affiliations
- Shenyang Agricultural University (CN)
- Technical University of Denmark (DK)
- Aarhus University (DK)
- Corresponding author
- An, Y.
- Venue
- Journal of Applied Microbiology
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2018-10-03
- Volume
- 126
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 359-368
- ISSN
- 1364-5072 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2889405956
- Cited by
- 296
- References
- 70
- Citations by year
- 2026: 23 · 2025: 42 · 2024: 47 · 2023: 59 · 2022: 50 · 2021: 42 · 2020: 22 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 1
- FWCI
- 1.01
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Applied Microbiology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Technical University of Denmark, DTU Orbit (Technical University of Denmark, DTU) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- Shenyang Agricultural University
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Energy › Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment › Algal biology and biofuel production
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Microbial Metabolic Engineering and Bioproduction
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Aquatic Ecosystems and Phytoplankton Dynamics
- Keywords
- microalgae-bacteria symbiosis, mutualism, microalgae growth, biofuel production, nutrient remineralization, siderophores, B vitamins, heterotrophic bacteria, microalgal biomass, photosynthetic microalgae
- MeSH terms
- Bacteria, Symbiosis, Biomass, Heterotrophic Processes, Biofuels, Microalgae
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