Science

Domesticating algae for the 21st century

• Fascinating
• Relevant
• Ingenious

Project description: Algae are photosynthetic organisms found nearly everywhere on Earth. You may know them as the green slime in aquariums or birdbaths. Algae are a very diverse group with a wealth of genes that could be useful for human needs but algae have been poorly utilized by humans. Unlike plants, animals, yeasts, and bacteria, few algae have been domesticated for human use. The long term objective of our project is to improve algae for farming, much as plants have been improved for farming over many years of domestication. Our subject is the common green alga known as Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.

Chlamydomonas is a single-celled green alga that has been studied intensively for many years in laboratories around the world. We are genetically modifying Chlamydomonas so that it will grow better under algae farm conditions and produce more useful chemicals, such as oils that can be refined into biodiesel and jet fuel.

Genetic modification means that we are taking genes from other organisms and putting them into the Chlamydomonas genome. This may sound worrying but genetic modification of yeasts and bacteria has been in progress for decades. Many valuable medicines have been resulted, including a human form of insulin that is life-saving for people with diabetes if they are allergic to the insulin extracted from slaughtered pigs. We will not be releasing any of our genetically modified Chlamydomonas from the lab for the foreseeable future. Much study and government approval will be required first. Nonetheless, anyone with ethical concerns about genetic modification should not support our project. We would direct you instead to other RocketHub science projects that you find more consistent with your views.

The specific project for which we request funding aims to make cells of Chlamydomonas stick together on command. If successful, this will save much energy in the harvesting of single-celled algae from farm-sized cultures. In the best scenario, a small amount of scent chemical would be added to the Chlamydomonas pond, the cells would form clumps and settle to the bottom, water would be drained for recycling, and the green Chlamydomonas slime would be scooped up for refining into fuel. We are genetically modifying Chlamydomonas using genes from a close relative, the amazing multicellular green alga known as Volvox. Volvox is a colony of many Chlamydomonas-like cells held together by a transparent matrix of proteins. We have put one of the Volvox genes for these proteins into Chlamydomonas cells and have been gratified to see that the Chlamydomonas cells now tend to stick together in clumps and settle out of solution. But we have not yet confirmed that the clumping Chlamydomonas cells actually produce the Volvox protein. We are asking for your support to prove activity of the Volvox gene and presence of the Volvox protein in our genetically modified Chlamydomonas cells.

Use of funds: Funds contributed to our SciFund request will be used to purchase chemicals and small equipment to prove activity of Volvox genes and presence of Volvox proteins in our genetically modified Chlamydomonas cells. Any funds in excess of the target request will be used to pay student salaries for work on the project. Funds will also be used to provide rewards.

Please note that contributions to this project through RocketHub cannot be considered investments or charity. They are received in exchange for the specified rewards and the opportunity to participate in the global scientific enterprise.