This book covers recent advances in cyanobacterial research. It deals with diversity, evolutionary biology, stress physiology, molecular biology of stress responses, and biotechnology of this group of prokaryotes. Cyanobacteria are ubiquitous and, undoubtedly, agriculturally microorganisms in terms of carbon and nitrogen fixation. In addition, cyanobacteria have long been used to fertilize crops and are a source of protein for humans. In parallel with the advances in cyanobacterial research in the 21st century, the development and application of innovative techniques in molecular biotechnology has widened the spectrum of commercial applications and potential exploitation of cyanobacteria. This book will be of interest to both new and experienced researchers involved in cyanobacterial molecular biology, ecology, and industrial biotechnology. This collection of chapters from experts also serves as essential reading for undergraduate and graduate students of to understand the importance of cyanobacteria in agriculture, ecology, microbial physiology, and environmental sciences.
This volume comprises select papers presented at a symposium held in September, 1996 in India. The contributors used the forum to disseminate their research findings.
This book provides a comprehensive and authoritative review of cyanobacteria and their applications as solar cell factories. Cyanobacteria are able to perform oxygenic photosynthesis and they are utilized in many different bioprocesses. The book covers two major aspects of a cyano-based bioprocess: the biological whole-cell catalyst and the technical environment in which the catalyst is applied. In the biocatalyst itself electron and carbon flow play an essential role for the performance of the cell and need to be tackled likewise for successful biocatalyst development. In the first chapters of this volume, cyanobacterial biotechnology and the fundamentals of cyanobacterial bioenergetics are introduced followed by an overview on tools and strategies for cyanobacteria engineering. Further on, examples of applications, engineering and production of different industrially relevant compounds in these organisms are provided, and finally process technology specific for cyanobacteria is covered. In this book, particular attention is given to topics such as cyanobacterial bioenergetics, metabolic engineering design strategies, utilizing cyanobacteria in biophotovoltaics, and production of pigments as well as photobiohydrogen in cyanobacteria, among others. This book will provide interested students and researchers in the area of photo-biotechnology with a deeper understanding of the cyanobacterial cell-factory, including the latest innovations and persistent challenges in the field.
Unites a biological and a biotechnological perspective on cyanobacteria, and includes the industrial aspects and applications of cyanobacteria Cyanobacteria Biotechnology offers a guide to the interesting and useful features of cyanobacteria metabolism that keeps true to a biotechnology vision. In one volume the book brings together both biology and biotechnology to illuminate the core acpects and principles of cyanobacteria metabolism. Designed to offer a practical approach to the metabolic engineering of cyanobacteria, the book contains relevant examples of how this metabolic "module" is currently being engineered and how it could be engineered in the future. The author includes information on the requirements and real-world experiences of the industrial applications of cyanobacteria. This important book: Brings together biology and biotechnology in order to gain insight into the industrial relevant topic of cyanobacteria Introduces the key aspects of the metabolism of cyanobacteria Presents a grounded, practical approach to the metabolic engineering of cyanobacteria Offers an analysis of the requirements and experiences for industrial cyanobacteria Provides a framework for readers to design their own processes Written for biotechnologists, microbiologists, biologists, biochemists, Cyanobacteria Biotechnology provides a systematic and clear volume that brings together the biological and biotechnological perspective on cyanobacteria.
Environmental change is affecting the world's agricultural productivity. This is coupled with an increase in population: according to the United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs, the global population is estimated to reach 9.7 billion by 2050. Therefore, the current situation requires that we develop climate-smart technologies to improve crop productivity to sustain the ever-rising global population. Current-day farmers are introducing a considerable amount of agrochemicals to enhance crop productivity. Indiscriminate agrochemical application has altered not only the soil's physic-chemical and biological properties but also affected human health through food chain contamination. Cyanobacteria, under these changing environmental conditions, may help to resolve the problem significantly without changing the natural soil properties. In spite of their well-known stress tolerance potential, most of the cyanobacterial stress management and signaling pathways are yet to be fully characterized. Therefore, there is an urgent need to explore cyanobacterial metabolism under stress as well as their regulatory pathways to exploit them for sustainable agriculture. In recent decades, the application of cyanobacteria has attracted scientists because of uniqueness, better adaptability, and synthetic products. Diverse cyanobacterial communities with the ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen, together with their photosynthetic properties, have demonstrated their application under field conditions. Several cyanobacterial species have thus been exploited to enhance soil fertility, mitigate biotic and abiotic stress, and contamination management. Cyanobacterial Lifestyle and its Applications in Biotechnology has been designed to discuss different aspects of cyanobacterial physiology with the aim of helping to provide a better understanding of advanced cyanobacterial molecular biology and their metabolism to uncover the potential of cyanobacteria in the tailoring of stress smart crops for sustainable agriculture. Chapters include valuable information about the role of cyanobacteria in the evolution of life, cyanobacterial photosynthesis, stress-tolerant cyanobacterium, biological nitrogen fixation, circadian rhythms, genetics and molecular biology of abiotic stress responses. Summarizes various aspects of cyanobacterial research. Includes comprehensive coverage of molecular approaches for the identification of cyanobacteria and their evolution. Identifies an expanding horizon of cyanobacterial lifestyle: stress management in cyanobacteria. Examines cyanobacteria synthetic biology, genetic engineering, photosynthesis and metabolic engineering.
An introduction to cyanobacterial and algal metabolisms and environmental biotechnology. It features the contributions of researchers and professionals for exploiting the biotechnological potentials of simple and unique oxygen evolving primitive organisms.
As the world struggles to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and curb greenhouse gas emissions, industrial biotechnology is also ‘going green.’ Escherichia coli has long been used as a model Gram-negative bacterium, not only for fundamental research, but also for industrial applications. Recently, however, cyanobacteria have emerged as candidate chassis for the production of commodity fuels and chemicals, utilizing CO2 and sunlight as the main nutrient requirements. In addition to their potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and lowering production costs, cyanobacteria have naturally efficient pathways for the production metabolites such as carotenoids, which are of importance in the nutraceutical industry. The unique metabolic and regulatory pathways present in cyanobacteria present new challenges for metabolic engineers and synthetic biologists. Moreover, their requirement for light and the dynamic regulatory mechanisms of the diurnal cycle further complicate the development and application of cyanobacteria for industrial applications. Consequently, significant advancements in cyanobacterial engineering and strain development are necessary for the development of a ‘green E. coli’. This Research Topic will focus on cyanobacteria as organisms of emerging industrial relevance, including research focused on the development of genetic tools for cyanobacteria, the investigation of new cyanobacterial strains, the construction of novel cyanobacterial strains via genetic engineering, the application of ‘omics’ tools to advance the understanding of engineered cyanobacteria, and the development of computational models for cyanobacterial strain development.
