Algae Potentials for Crop Protection and Modern Agriculture

Uzuner U.

Eurasian Congress on Molecular Biotechnology, Trabzon, Türkiye, 19 - 21 Eylül 2019, ss.39-40

  • Yayın Türü: Bildiri / Özet Bildiri
  • Basıldığı Şehir: Trabzon
  • Basıldığı Ülke: Türkiye
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.39-40
  • Karadeniz Teknik Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

With the recent advancements in molecular and cellular biology; potentials of algae are currently identified as unpredictably rapid, they thus progressively continue to fascinate researchers, governments, farmers and especially stakeholders investing on bioenergy, biofuels, pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals and feed. Moreover, algae present a highly sustainable and natural bioresource for increasing world population food requirements. Due to their broad yet low-cost biomass potentials related to biofuels, pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, and human health, their considerable advantages in most agricultural applications were underestimated over last two decades.

In today’s modern agriculture, the potentials of photosynthetic and atmospheric CO2-fixing algae (both blue-green eukaryotic algae and Gram-negative prokaryotic cyanobacteria) started as recognized more efficiently. Algae are capable of promoting soil nutrient availability, organic carbon/metal ion content and fertility. When applied, it enhances seed germination, plant growth, and crop yields by stimulating of the enrichment of beneficial microbiota in the soil. Both green algae and cyanobacteria are also able to produce numerous plant growth promoting metabolites such as growth hormones, polysaccharides, antimicrobial compounds, siderophores etc. Algae naturally also produce biostimulant and biofertiliser metabolites which considerably stimulate plant growth and development under optimal and stressful conditions. Some of these metabolites are essential to restrict the colonization of plant pathogenic bacteria fungi and even nematodes, serving as natural biopesticides, thereby standing as sustainable alternatives to synthetic fertilizers, stimulants and pesticides.

Beyond their plant-protective, -promoting and -growth enhancing effects, here we report the metabolic engineering of industrial algae strains essential for biofuels production or waste water treatment, to improve their targeted crop protection, biopesticide and environmental potentials through integrated operations.