From vitamins to biofuel: Western researchers open door to unlocking potential uses of algae

Western University researchers are looking at ways to re-engineer algae cells to create everything from vitamins to biofuels. CTV’s Gerry Dewan explains.

Western University researchers are capturing international attention after unlocking the potential hidden in certain forms of algae.

Diatoms are single-cell micro-algae found in most bodies of water, including lakes, seas and oceans.

It is estimated diatoms account for an estimated 20 to 50 per cent of the world’s oxygen.

“They convert a lot of carbon dioxide to oxygen. So, they are great for all of us. They also are the primary one of the primary foods for a lot of organisms,” noted Associate Professor Bodumil Karas of Western University’s biochemistry department.

Where Karas saw real potential for diatoms was in the ability to genetically code them to create a wide range of products.

“What we are really, truly hoping that very soon we’re going to be using those diatoms as factories for producing many products from fuel to protein, to vitamins, et cetera,” he said.

The challenge is that diatoms have a protective silica shell. It makes them resilient in nature but also makes it difficult to deliver DNA to create new products.

The breakthrough came when then student and PhD candidate Emma Walker recognized that the shell on older diatoms was easier to strip away. She then got to work creating a chemical process to recreate that phenomenon.

That opened the door to testing a broad spectrum of DNA coding options.

“In the past maybe, we could test 10 combinations, 20. But right now, with this method we can test thousands in a fraction of the time. So, by being able to go to such a high throughput, we are going to try to drive down the cost of making all these products to the point that [they] are way cheaper than the existing methods,” she explained.

In the case of fossil fuels, Karas notes that it’s a finite resource, as the oil in the ground will eventually run dry. As a result, alternatives will be necessary.

Karas says it will also reduce the environmental impact, especially when it comes to carbon emissions.

“This algae essentially just needs sunlight and seawater to create all these products. It also removes carbon dioxide and produces oxygen. So, we have so many more benefits,” he said.

Karas says the Western team’s DNA delivery breakthroughs have the world taking notice.

“Many collaborators are coming to work with us, from different countries. And we actually created a consortium that right now have almost 60 scientists that we meet twice a year to discuss how actually to use the tools right now that we discovered,” he said.

The Western University research on diatoms is published in the journal Nature Communications.