Galdieria sulphuraria is an extremophile red alga that grows in volcanic environments with pH between 1 and 4. Translated to technological utilization, this feature enables the alga to be cultivated with minimal contamination. Furthermore, Galdieria gained genes from bacteria by lateral gene transfer that conferred heterotrophic metabolism to the alga. This can be used for cultivating the alga directly in settled wastewater medium with no need of additional pre-treatments and continue until the water is completely cleaned. Additionally, the alga can remediate waters containing heavy metals. We will screen various strains of Galdieria sulphuraria for highest removal of nutrients and the most complete sanitation.

As part of the project, we will determine the kinetics of carbon allocation of the most promising strains via isotopolog-profiling mass spectrometry and use this knowledge to maximize incorporation of respiratory CO₂. In collaboration with the Centre for Synthetic Biology at HHU, we will employ the synthetic biology approaches to alter carbon allocation patterns for improved biomass production of the most suitable microalgal candidates.

Within the ACCeSS project, further processes are being developed to finally produce useful biopolymers. In this regard, our aim at HHU is to attain synthetic organisms that will excrete the carbon-rich products into the media and thus create the basis for a continual system without the requirement of biomass harvesting and extraction. This approach will add to the techno-economical advantage of the proposed application and help achieve good results in LCA (life cycle assessment). Further processing steps and cocultivation opportunities are explored by our collaborators in Aachen and Jülich.

Researcher: Dr. Erik Chovancek, HHU; Send Email

Project leaders:
Ilka Axmann, Institute for Synthetic Microbiology , HHU; Send Email
Andreas Weber, Institute of Plant Biochemistry , HHU; Send Email