Stress protection: How blue-green algae hoard energy
Monday, August 1, 2011 - 16:31
in Biology & Nature
Under normal conditions, cyanobacteria, also termed blue-green algae, build up energy reserves that allow them to survive under stress such as long periods of darkness. They do this by means of a molecular switch in an enzyme. By removing this switch, researchers now show that it is possible to use the excess energy of the bacteria for biotechnological purposes such as hydrogen production, without the bacteria suffering.