Hydrogen photoproduction under continuous illumination by sulfur-deprived, synchronous Chlamydomonas reinhardtii cultures

Unsynchronized Chlamydomonas reinhardtii cells subsequently deprived of sulfur produce H 2 under continuous illumination in the laboratory for 3–4 days. However, cultures grown outdoors will be exposed to day-and-night cycles that may synchronize their growth and cell division. While it is clear tha...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of hydrogen energy 2002-01, Vol.27 (11), p.1239-1244
Main Authors: Tsygankov, Anatoly, Kosourov, Sergey, Seibert, Michael, Ghirardi, Maria L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algae
Cell culture
Degradation
Green algae
Hydrogen
Metabolism
Oxygen
Photoproduction
Photosynthesis
Proteins
Rate constants
Starch
Sulfur
Sulfur deprivation
Synchronous growth
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Unsynchronized Chlamydomonas reinhardtii cells subsequently deprived of sulfur produce H 2 under continuous illumination in the laboratory for 3–4 days. However, cultures grown outdoors will be exposed to day-and-night cycles that may synchronize their growth and cell division. While it is clear that only insignificant amounts of H 2 can be produced by sulfur-deprived cells during the night period, little work has been done to examine the effects of the light/dark cycles preceding sulfur deprivation on subsequent H 2 photoproduction. We show that (a) C. reinhardtii cells exhibit synchronized growth and cell division in the presence of acetate, (b) cells with the highest specific rates of H 2 photoproduction also have the highest rates of biomass accumulation, and (c) the highest rates of starch and protein degradation coincide with the highest rates of formate and acetate accumulation, but not with H 2 photoproduction. This work shows that it is possible to maximize the production of H 2 by sulfur-depriving synchronized cultures at about 4 h after the beginning of the light period.
ISSN:0360-3199
1879-3487
DOI:10.1016/S0360-3199(02)00108-8