Molecular Velcro boosts microalgaes potential in biofuel, industrial applications

Michigan State University scientists have engineered "molecular Velcro" into to cyanobacteria, boosting this microalgae's biofuel viability as well as its potential for other research. 

The findings, featured in the current issue of ACS Synthetic Biology, show how MSU researchers have designed a surface display system to attach cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, to yeast and other surfaces. The proof-of-concept may improve the efficiency of harvesting algae as well as open avenues to improve the construction of artificial microbial communities for sustainable biofuel production or other industrial projects.

"Inadequate cyanobacterial toolkits limited our ability to come up with biological solutions," said Derek Fedeson, MSU graduate student and the study's co-lead author. "So, we wanted to add another tool to the toolbox to expand the capacity of these bacteria, which can harness solar energy for the production of useful compounds."

In the study, the team focused on surface proteins of cyanobacteria to enable it to bind to specifically engineered surfaces. One of these was a strain of yeast that has a molecular hook on its surface.

Fedeson engineered the bacteria to produce a "loop" on its surface - something to bind the hooks to tether cyanobacteria. While this task was completed quickly, getting yeast to stick to algae when they bumped into each other took much longer.