Detecting algae can 'eat' cellulose

The flowers need water and light to grow. Even children know that plants use sunlight to gather energy from soil and water.

Members of Professor Biology's research group Dr. Olaf Kruse discovered a breakthrough discovery that one of the plants has another way to do this. They confirmed for the first time a plant, green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii , not only involved in photosynthesis, but also has an alternative energy source: it can be extracted from other plants. This finding may also have a major impact on the future of bioenergy.

The research results were published online in Nature Communications yesterday, November 20.

So far, it is believed that worms, bacteria, and fungi can only digest plant cellulose and use it as a carbon source for their growth and survival. In contrast, plant species bind to photosynthesis of carbon dioxide, water, and light. In a series of experiments, Professor Dr. Olaf Kruse and his team transplanted the green microalgae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii in a low carbon dioxide environment and observed that when faced with a lack of CO2, the This single-celled plant can draw energy from its cellulose 'neighbor' plant instead.

Algae produce enzymes (also called celluloseza enzymes) that "digest" cellulose, breaking cellulose into smaller sugar particles. The sugar is then transported into cells and transformed into an energy source: algae can continue to grow.

'This is the first time such an act has been confirmed in a plant,' Professor Kruse said. 'Algae can digest cellulose, which contradicts every textbook. To a certain extent, what we are seeing is plants that eat plants'.

Currently, scientists are studying whether this mechanism also occurs in other algae. Preliminary results show that this mechanism only occurs in the algae mentioned above.

In the future, this 'new' ability of algae may also be of interest to produce bioenergy. Breaking down cellulose by biological means is one of the most important tasks in this area. Although large quantities of cellulose-containing waste are available, such as from harvest of crops, this amount of waste cannot be converted into biofuel in this form. Celluloseza enzymes must first break the material and process it.

Currently, these essential celluloseza enzymes are extracted from fungi, and these fungi need organic materials to grow. If in the future it is possible to obtain the enzyme cellulose from algae, there may be no need for organic material to grow mushrooms. Then, even if algae are confirmed to be able to use alternative nutrients, water and light are enough for them to grow under normal conditions.