A novel cyanobacteria strain has been discovered that could hold immense potential in addressing the global carbon crisis.
Identified by researchers from the United States and Italy, the strain, found in volcanic ocean vents near Sicily, exhibits unique traits beneficial for carbon sequestration and industrial applications.
This breakthrough, documented in Applied Environmental Microbiology, offers a glimpse into the future of biologically-based solutions to climate change.
The cyanobacteria, dubbed Chonkus, thrives in high-CO2 environments and is characterized by its rapid growth and tendency to sink in water, qualities that could make it an important tool in carbon capture and sequestration projects.
It was discovered in shallow volcanic ocean vents off the coast of Vulcano, an island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy. The area is rich in dissolved CO2 due to the volcanic activity, creating a habitat for organisms that have evolved to utilize this abundance of carbon.
“Dissolved carbon is relatively dilute compared to all the other molecules in the ocean, and that limits the growth of photosynthetic organisms that live there,” said Max Schubert, Ph.D., a key member of the research team. We decided to investigate what happens when you alleviate that limiting factor by going to a place with plenty of carbon, where some organisms could have evolved the ability to use it to galvanize their growth.” Schubert, who was working at Harvard University’s Wyss Institute at the time of the discovery, highlighted the practical advantages of this particular strain for decarbonization efforts.
Traits suited for carbon sequestration
What sets Chonkus apart is its ability to grow rapidly and to higher densities than other known strains of cyanobacteria. Moreover, it tends to sink naturally in water, a trait that could prove highly valuable for carbon sequestration projects, where organisms that sequester carbon and sink to the ocean floor could help remove CO2 from the atmosphere.
The cyanobacteria strain, identified as UTEX 3222, was found to produce larger colonies and individual cells compared to existing strains. It also harbors carbon-containing granules within its cells, increasing its overall carbon content. These characteristics make Chonkus particularly promising for industrial applications.
“Many of the traits that we observed in Chonkus aren’t inherently useful in their natural environment, but are very useful to humans,” explained Braden Tierney, Ph.D., co-author of the research and collaborator on the project.
The discovery resulted from a large-scale collaboration that included researchers from several U.S. and Italian institutions. It began when Schubert and Tierney, then working together at Harvard Medical School (HMS), explored the potential of cyanobacteria for carbon capture. Their efforts were supported by SeedLabs and HMS’s Consortium for Space Genetics, leading to an expedition to the volcanic seeps near Vulcano.
Working alongside Italian professors Marco Milazzo, Ph.D., and Paola Quatrini, Ph.D., from the University of Palermo, the team collected samples from the shallow oceanic seeps. These waters, abundant in CO2 and sunlight, created ideal conditions for photosynthetic microbes like cyanobacteria. The samples were then sent to Boston for further analysis, where the strain Chonkus was isolated.
Tierney noted the strategic advantage of seeking organisms that have naturally evolved traits beneficial to humans, such as high-density growth: “An incredible amount of microbial diversity exists out there in the world, and we believe it’s more efficient to seek out the microbes that have already evolved to succeed in human-relevant environments rather than trying to engineer all of the traits we want into lab-grown E. coli bacteria.”
Industrial potential
Cyanobacteria like Chonkus could play a dual role in carbon sequestration and the biomanufacturing of valuable commodities. For instance, cyanobacteria are already used to produce omega-3 fatty acids, the antioxidant astaxanthin, and spirulina. The strain’s dense growth and natural tendency to settle would also reduce the cost of industrial biomass production, where concentrating and drying the material currently accounts for a significant part of the process.
The fact that cyanobacteria directly harvest carbon from their environment and convert it into biomass means that they could simultaneously contribute to decarbonization and serve as a platform for manufacturing sustainable products. The researchers have cryopreserved samples of UTEX 3222 and UTEX 3221, making it available to other scientists for further exploration and application from the Culture Collection of Algae at the University of Texas, Austin.
George Church, Ph.D., a prominent figure in genetics and co-author of the study, stressed the importance of responsible innovation. “It’s very important to ‘build the seatbelts before you build the car’ – our lab also studies bio-containment approaches that help contain and control these kinds of experiments.” Church emphasized that harnessing natural evolution in cyanobacteria offers humanity a significant advantage in the urgent race to mitigate climate change.
Encouraged by the success of their initial expedition, the researchers have since founded The Two Frontiers Project, a non-profit organization focused on studying life in extreme environments. The group has already launched new expeditions to explore microbial life in hot springs and coral reefs, with the goal of identifying species that could help in carbon capture, sustainable bioproduction, and environmental restoration efforts.
As Don Ingber, M.D., Ph.D., founding director of the Wyss Institute, pointed out: “This is a wonderful example of how our new Sustainable Futures Initiative is pursuing out-of-the-box approaches to confront climate change – the biggest challenge of our generation.”
The discovery of Chonkus signals a new frontier in the search for natural allies in the fight against climate change. With further research and development, this unique strain of cyanobacteria could one day be an integral part of both industrial and environmental solutions to reducing global CO2 levels.
Journal Reference:
Schubert MG, Tang T, Goodchild-Michelman IM, Ryon KA, Henriksen JR, Chavkin T, Wu Y, Miettinen TP, Van Wychen S, Dahlin LR, Spatafora D, Turco G, Guarnieri MT, Manalis SR, Kowitz J, Hann EC, Dhir R, Quatrini P, Mason CE, Church GM, Milazzo M, Tierney BT, ‘Cyanobacteria newly isolated from marine volcanic seeps display rapid sinking and robust, high-density growth’, Applied Environmental Microbiology 0:e00841-24. DOI: 10.1128/aem.00841-24
Article Source:
Press Release/Material by Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard
Featured image: View of the Stromboli in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Credit: Patrick Nouhailler | Flickr | CC BY-SA 2.0
