An Alkaliphilic Cyanobacterial Consortium for Air-Capture and Conversion of Carbon dioxide

Simple item page
dc.contributor.advisorStrous, Marc
dc.contributor.authorAtaeian, Maryam
dc.contributor.committeememberCey, Edwin
dc.contributor.committeememberLarter, Stephen R
dc.contributor.committeememberDunfield, Peter F
dc.contributor.committeememberHug, Laura A
dc.date2022-08
dc.date.accessioned2022-09-01T20:43:39Z
dc.date.available2022-09-01T20:43:39Z
dc.date.issued2022-08
dc.description.abstractCyanobacteria encompass a diverse group of photosynthetic Bacteria with important roles in nature and biotechnology. The ability of cyanobacteria to fix carbon dioxide (CO2) through oxygenic photosynthesis, with minimal nutritional requirements and non-potable water, has led to their adoption for bio-production of high-value nutraceuticals. While cyanobacteria-based biotechnologies hold much potential for the production of bio-products, there remain several challenges for efficient and cost-effective implementation of this technology at scale. This thesis explores multiple innovative approaches to overcome those challenges using a cyanobacterial consortium, enriched from phototrophic microbial mats of alkaline soda lakes in British Columbia, Canada. First, the cyanobacterial consortium was investigated as an alkaline capture and conversion system (chapter 2). This study demonstrated successful cyanobacterial growth at a pH above 11, with high and robust biomass productivity. And for the first time, feasibility of direct capture of CO2 from the atmosphere into the spent medium was shown. In chapter 3, a combination of Nanopore and Illumina sequencing was used to obtain a complete genome of the abundant cyanobacterium of the consortium, provisionally named Candidatus “Phormidium alkaliphilum”. Evolutionary changes in the genome during three years of laboratory cultivation were investigated and differences in gene content between alkaliphilic and neutral pH Phormidium species were studied. Favourable genomic factors contributing to the ecological success of this genus in both alkaline soda lakes and in photobioreactors were discussed. Lastly, in chapter 4, the community composition of the consortium’s heterotrophic members and their ecological interactions with Ca P. alkaliphilum were analyzed using metagenomics, metaproteomics, and stable isotope probing/proteomics. Adaptation to different photobioreactors (tubular and stirred) at different pH and with different nitrogen sources (ammonium, urea, and nitrate) was explored. Genome information from each heterotrophic population was investigated for six ecological niches created by cyanobacterial metabolism and one niche for phototrophy, explaining the robustness of the system. In conclusion, this work explored innovative solutions based on biological and chemical mechanisms to improve the feasibility of cyanobacterial biotechnology and expanded current knowledge on ecological interactions of the genus Phormidium in its natural environment.en_US
dc.identifier.citationAtaeian, M. (2022). An alkaliphilic cyanobacterial consortium for air-capture and conversion of carbon dioxide (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1880/115152
dc.identifier.urihttps://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/40186
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisher.facultyScienceen_US
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Calgaryen
dc.rightsUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.en_US
dc.subjectCyanobacteriaen_US
dc.subjectBiofuelsen_US
dc.subjectCarbon Captureen_US
dc.subjectMetagenomicsen_US
dc.subjectMetaproteomicsen_US
dc.subjectSoda lakesen_US
dc.subjectBioproductsen_US
dc.subjectDirect Air Captureen_US
dc.subjectRenewable Energyen_US
dc.subjectPhotosynthesisen_US
dc.subjectAlgaeen_US
dc.subjectBiotechnologyen_US
dc.subject.classificationEducation--Sciencesen_US
dc.subject.classificationBiologyen_US
dc.subject.classificationBioinformaticsen_US
dc.subject.classificationEcologyen_US
dc.subject.classificationGeneticsen_US
dc.subject.classificationMicrobiologyen_US
dc.subject.classificationBiology--Molecularen_US
dc.subject.classificationEnvironmental Sciencesen_US
dc.subject.classificationEnergyen_US
dc.titleAn Alkaliphilic Cyanobacterial Consortium for Air-Capture and Conversion of Carbon dioxideen_US
dc.typedoctoral thesisen_US
thesis.degree.disciplineGeoscienceen_US
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Calgaryen_US
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophy (PhD)en_US
ucalgary.item.requestcopytrueen_US
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
ucalgary_2022_ataeian_maryam.pdf
Size:
6.49 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
2.62 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download
Collections
Open Theses and Dissertations