An alga as a source of clean energy?

Properly understanding the processes of energy production and regulation can also serve biotechnologies: in the absence of sulphur, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii produces hydrogen, a “clean” fuel. Sulphur is a chemical element necessary for the synthesis of certain amino acids that form proteins. “If there is a lack of sulphur, the photosynthesis of Chlamy decreases,” points out Pierre Cardol, “the alga manages to set up another way to produce energy, which results in the production of hydrogen”. An interesting physiological process considering current concerns for the environment. Of course, the little unicellular alga does not produce sufficient quantities of hydrogen naturally to be able to exploit it as a source of energy. Tests are currently being carried out in Liège in the Plant Biochemistry Laboratory: thanks to a photobioreactor, scientists can calculate the hydrogen production of various mutant strains of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Hence, they hope to be able to propose ways to produce large quantities of hydrogen from microorganisms.