生態系と生態学のジャーナル

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The Oil-Producing Microalga Botryococcus Braunii: A Method for Isolation from the Natural Environment and Perspectives on the Role of Ecological Studies in Algal Biofuel Production

Koji Kawamura, Kotaro Hirano , Ardianor and Rudy Agung Nugroho

The oil-producing microalgae Botryococcus braunii accumulates petroleum-like hydrocarbons in large quantities

that can be processed into renewable biofuels such as biodiesel. Algal biofuel is expected to become a next

generation, carbon-neutral bioenergy source, as microalgal oils are made from carbon dioxide fixed by

photosynthesis, but industrial-scale algal biofuel production has not yet been achieved. Algal biofuel research tends

to be laboratory-based, such as for bioreactor optimization and the genetic engineering of algae, but ecological

research conducted in the field, such as investigating wild algae ecology in natural environments, promises

breakthrough potential in algal biofuel studies. This paper aims to introduce a simple method for isolating B. braunii

from natural environments and our recent work on a DNA-based method for the detection of B. braunii in natural

environments, and to discuss how ecological studies may contribute to the development of the algal biofuel

production.