Harnessing microalgae: from biology to innovation in sustainable solutions

Abstract

Microalgae, small single or multicellular photosynthetic active organisms, could be a component to solve our urgent global challenges. This review provides a concise introduction to biology and applications of microalgae. On an example from our own scientific studies, we illustrate how these organisms could replace respectively optimize carbon producing processes. We will also describe the potential of microalgae for sustainable production towards atmospheric CO2 sequestration. Development of machine learning techniques forecast a paradigm shift regarding scientific methods. It concerns synthetic biology as well as engineering of metabolism in microalgae.