Microbial consortia: a critical look at microalgae co-cultures for enhanced biomanufacturing

Abstract

Monocultures have been the preferred production route in the bio-industry, where contamination has been a major bottleneck. In nature, microorganisms usually exist as part of organized communities and consortia, gaining benefits from co-habitation, keeping invaders at bay. There is increasing interest in the use of co-cultures to tackle contamination issues, and simultaneously increase productivity and product diversity. The feasibility of extending the natural phenomenon of co-habitation to the biomanufacturing industry in the form of co-cultures requires careful and systematic consideration of several aspects. This article will critically examine and review current work on microbial co-cultures, with the intent of examining the concept and proposing a design pipeline that can be developed in a biomanufacturing context.

Improvement of Euglena gracilis Paramylon Production through a Cocultivation Strategy with the Indole-3-Acetic Acid-Producing Bacterium Vibrio natriegens

“…The enhanced microalgal biomass and/or production of metabolites by cocultivation with bacteria has been studied (16,30,31). In cocultivations with microalgae and bacteria, the inoculation ratio and the timing of bacterial application are important factors for stimulation of microalgal growth (32). In our work, the use of an E. gracilis/V.…”

Noninvasive tool for optical online monitoring of individual biomass concentrations in a defined coculture

“…Interactions between different microorganisms were described for many decades (Challinor & Rose, ). In recent years the new possibilities of microbial consortia, which synergistically combine metabolic pathways, led to intensified research on coculture fermentations (Padmaperuma, Kapoore, Gilmour, & Vaidyanathan, ). Either defined microbial strains, or a natural microbial consortium are isolated and cultivated with the aim to develop new biotechnological processes.…”

Co-cultivation of Rhodotorula glutinis and Chlorella pyrenoidosa to improve nutrient removal and protein content by their synergistic relationship

“…The co-culture algae-yeast and microbiota alterations exert profound effects on wastewater treatment. 20,21 Thus, integrated algae-yeast bioreactor and further studies could be performed to verify the cooperation mechanism between algae and yeast. It was hypothesized that the algae and yeast cooperation may be mutually benecial through the processes of respiration or substrate exchange.…”