...Researchers led by Iowa State Professor of Genetics Martin Spalding figured out how to keep those genes turned on all the time, turning this strain of algae (Chlamydomonas reinhardtii) into a CO2-sucking, biomass-producing machine:
When the two genes were expressed together, Spalding was surprised to see the 50 to 80 percent biomass increase.
“Somehow these two genes are working together to increase the amount of carbon dioxide that’s converted through photosynthesis into biomass by the algae under conditions where you would expect there would already be enough carbon dioxide,” said Spalding.
The excess biomass naturally becomes starch through the photosynthesis process, and increases the biomass starch by around 80 percent.
By using some existing mutated genes, Spalding can instruct the algae to make oil instead of starch. This process requires more energy and the process results in around a 50 percent increase in oil biomass.
...But what if these organisms — which can very easily leave the lab on clothing, skin or through the air — escape into the natural environment and contaminate the gene pool of wild algae and dramatically increase growth rates?
... bioenergy expert David Haberman, criticize the government for not putting more thought into potential impacts, saying “the lack of study of the potential hazards is of great concern.”
Haberman has been warning of the threat of genetically modified algae for years — saying rogue organisms could disrupt fisheries, hurt recreation and make people sick. “There’s little oversight and no regulatory regime,” he says.
Read on at: http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/11/28/374605/genetically-engineer-algae-to-increase-oil-yields/
