Algae strain - ISU to tailor

A researcher at Iowa State Universitywill use a $4.37 million grant from the U.S. DOE to stack traits in Chlamydomonas alga that will improve oil yield, growth rate and offer better thermal resistance.

“The goal is really to develop it to be able to do breeding for microalgae,” said researcher Martin Spalding, professor and chair of genetics, development and cell biology, and a council member of ISU’s Plant Sciences Institute. His research will aim for treatment of the strain as any other terrestrial crop.

A more immediate goal for the 3-year project is to develop one or more strains that can compete for commercial biofuels production. “The algae we’re working with currently are not competitive with other strains for biofuels,” he said. More important, he’d like to have a platform breeding stock at the end of the project that can be used to respond quickly to biofuel needs that may arise. “We hope to bring this alga to the point where we can tailor it to meet the needs of the industry,” he said.

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Veronica Cassandra