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DOE OSTI · 1603968

Strain Improvements that Keep Algae Ponds Growing Strong

Steadman, Christina Rene·McDonald, Rebecca E.
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Abstract

A challenge for algal biofuel development is finding strains of algae best suited for producing copious amounts of oil quickly and under industrial-scale conditions. Furthermore, maintaining pond health is also challenging—deteriorating health in a small fraction of algal cells within a pond can quickly lead to the death of the entire pond’s population. To overcome these challenges, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) scientist Christina Steadman and team designed a process to optimize algal physiology and metabolism in cultures by interrogating specific characteristics of the algae cells. This process uses flow cytometry methods and solves two problems: the LANL team can quickly detect potential pond problems, and use this process to streamline the screening of potential algae candidates for biofuel production.

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Steadman, Christina Rene, McDonald, Rebecca E.. 2020-06-11. Strain Improvements that Keep Algae Ponds Growing Strong. https://doi.org/10.2172/1603968

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