Biomaterial Database

Energy conservation in photosynthetic microorganisms. 2020

Katsuhiko Okada, and Shoko Fujiwara, and Mikio Tsuzuki

School of Life Sciences, Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences.

Photosynthesis is a biological process of energy conversion from solar radiation to useful organic compounds for the photosynthetic organisms themselves. It, thereby, also plays a role of food production for almost all animals on the Earth. The utilization of photosynthesis as an artificial carbon cycle is also attracting a lot of attention regarding its benefits for human life. Hydrogen and biofuels, obtained from photosynthetic microorganisms, such as microalgae and cyanobacteria, will be promising products as energy and material resources. Considering that the efficiency of bioenergy production is insufficient to replace fossil fuels at present, techniques for the industrial utilization of photosynthesis processes need to be developed intensively. Increase in the efficiency of photosynthesis, the yields of target substances, and the growth rates of algae and cyanobacteria must be subjects for efficient industrialization. Here, we overview the whole aspect of the energy production from photosynthesis to biomass production of various photosynthetic microorganisms.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007218	Industrial Microbiology	The study, utilization, and manipulation of those microorganisms capable of economically producing desirable substances or changes in substances, and the control of undesirable microorganisms.	Microbiology, Industrial
D010788	Photosynthesis	The synthesis by organisms of organic chemical compounds, especially carbohydrates, from carbon dioxide using energy obtained from light rather than from the oxidation of chemical compounds. Photosynthesis comprises two separate processes: the light reactions and the dark reactions. In higher plants; GREEN ALGAE; and CYANOBACTERIA; NADPH and ATP formed by the light reactions drive the dark reactions which result in the fixation of carbon dioxide. (from Oxford Dictionary of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 2001)	Calvin Cycle,Calvin-Benson Cycle,Calvin-Benson-Bassham Cycle,Carbon Fixation, Photosynthetic,Reductive Pentose Phosphate Cycle,Dark Reactions of Photosynthesis,Calvin Benson Bassham Cycle,Calvin Benson Cycle,Cycle, Calvin,Cycle, Calvin-Benson,Cycle, Calvin-Benson-Bassham,Photosynthesis Dark Reaction,Photosynthesis Dark Reactions,Photosynthetic Carbon Fixation
D004734	Energy Metabolism	The chemical reactions involved in the production and utilization of various forms of energy in cells.	Bioenergetics,Energy Expenditure,Bioenergetic,Energy Expenditures,Energy Metabolisms,Expenditure, Energy,Expenditures, Energy,Metabolism, Energy,Metabolisms, Energy
D006859	Hydrogen	The first chemical element in the periodic table with atomic symbol H, and atomic number 1. Protium (atomic weight 1) is by far the most common hydrogen isotope. Hydrogen also exists as the stable isotope DEUTERIUM (atomic weight 2) and the radioactive isotope TRITIUM (atomic weight 3). Hydrogen forms into a diatomic molecule at room temperature and appears as a highly flammable colorless and odorless gas.	Protium,Hydrogen-1
D000458	Cyanobacteria	A phylum of oxygenic photosynthetic bacteria comprised of unicellular to multicellular bacteria possessing CHLOROPHYLL a and carrying out oxygenic PHOTOSYNTHESIS. Cyanobacteria are the only known organisms capable of fixing both CARBON DIOXIDE (in the presence of light) and NITROGEN. Cell morphology can include nitrogen-fixing heterocysts and/or resting cells called akinetes. Formerly called blue-green algae, cyanobacteria were traditionally treated as ALGAE.	Algae, Blue-Green,Blue-Green Bacteria,Cyanophyceae,Algae, Blue Green,Bacteria, Blue Green,Bacteria, Blue-Green,Blue Green Algae,Blue Green Bacteria,Blue-Green Algae
D056804	Biofuels	Hydrocarbon-rich byproducts from the non-fossilized BIOMASS that are combusted to generate energy as opposed to fossilized hydrocarbon deposits (FOSSIL FUELS).	Biodiesel,Biofuel,Biofuel Oils,Biogas,Biodiesels,Biofuel Oil,Oil, Biofuel,Oils, Biofuel
D058086	Microalgae	A non-taxonomic term for unicellular microscopic algae which are found in both freshwater and marine environments. Some authors consider DIATOMS; CYANOBACTERIA; HAPTOPHYTA; and DINOFLAGELLATES as part of microalgae, even though they are not algae.	Microphytes
D018533	Biomass	Total mass of all the organisms of a given type and/or in a given area. (From Concise Dictionary of Biology, 1990) It includes the yield of vegetative mass produced from any given crop.	Biomasses