Versatile Applications of Cyanobacteria in Biotechnology

Abstract

Cyanobacteria are blue-green Gram-negative and photosynthetic bacteria which are seen as one of the most morphologically numerous groups of prokaryotes. Because of their ability to fix gaseous nitrogen and carbon dioxide to organic materials, they are known to play important roles in the universal nutrient cycle. Cyanobacteria has emerged as one of the promising resources to combat the issues of global warming, disease outbreaks, nutrition insecurity, energy crises as well as persistent daily human population increases. Cyanobacteria possess significant levels of macro and micronutrient substances which facilitate the versatile popularity to be utilized as human food and protein supplements in many countries such as Asia. Cyanobacteria has been employed as a complementary dietary constituent of feed for poultry and as vitamin and protein supplement in aquatic lives. They are effectively used to deal with numerous tasks in various fields of biotechnology, such as agricultural (including aquaculture), industrial (food and dairy products), environmental (pollution control), biofuel (bioenergy) and pharmaceutical biotechnology (such as antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, immunosuppressant, anticoagulant and antitumor); recently, the growing interest of applying them as biocatalysts has been observed as well. Cyanobacteria are known to generate a numerous variety of bioactive compounds. However, the versatile potential applications of cyanobacteria in biotechnology could be their significant growth rate and survival in severe environmental conditions due to their distinct and unique metabolic pathways as well as active defensive mechanisms. In this review, we elaborated on the versatile cyanobacteria applications in different areas of biotechnology. We also emphasized the factors that could impede the implementation to cyanobacteria applications in biotechnology and the execution of strategies to enhance their effective applications.

Volatile Compounds, Fatty Acids Constituents, and Antimicrobial Activity of Cultured Spirulina (Arthrospira fusiformis) Isolated from Lake Mariout in Egypt

“…Even fatty acids from Arthrospira fusiformis were found to have in vitro antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes [37]. Te effective health benefts of Arthrospira fusiformis have been extensively detailed in many scientifc reports [10,20,21,23,[26][27][28][29][30][60][61][62].…”

Microalgal and Nitrogen-Fixing Bacterial Consortia: From Interaction to Biotechnological Potential

“…The microalgae have a huge metabolic diversity, fast growth, and low production costs, do not compete for arable lands, can be cultivated throughout the year, and usually are more productive per unit of land area than any plant system, characteristics that make these organisms very useful in biotechnological applications aimed at meeting urgent needs in industry and agriculture [152]. Cyanobacteria also possess a series of favorable characteristics that have led them to be widely used in various biotechnological applications, as highlighted in the review [153]. For instance, microalgae are used in wastewater treatment, as sustainable sources to produce high-value compounds, fertilizers, hydrogen, biofuel, or livestock feed, as well as a way of carbon sequestration to avoid CO 2 increase and global warming [154].…”

A comprehensive review of the therapeutic potential of cyanobacterial marine bioactives: Unveiling the hidden treasures of the sea

“…Due to their high macro and micronutrient content, they are used for human nutrition and protein supplementation, as well as in agriculture, industry, the environment, biofuel, and pharmaceutical biotechnology. Cyanobacteria are a source of bioactive compounds and possess unique metabolic pathways and active defense mechanisms, making them attractive biocatalysts (Żymańczyk-Duda et al, 2022).…”

“…Recent studies have also focused on the potential applications of marine cyanobacteria in biotechnology and environmental remediation. For example, the genus Leptolyngbya has been shown to produce extracellular polymeric substances that can be used for bioremediation of heavy metal-contaminated environments (Żymańczyk-Duda et al, 2022). Similarly, the genus Oscillatoria has been shown to produce polysaccharides with potential applications in the food and pharmaceutical industries (Sathasivam et al, 2019).…”