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SESSION TRACK · #01 OF 11 · PLENARY

Physiology of Algae,
New Species & Photosynthesis

From the 1771 discovery of oxygen evolution to CRISPR-edited chloroplasts — 250 years of photosynthesis science converge at AlgaEurope 2026, with eDNA pipelines now identifying thousands of new species per sequencing run.

Plenary Track Dec 8–11 · Hilton Malta Peer-reviewed abstracts
72,500+
Described algal species (Guiry, 2012)
~11%
Theoretical photosynthetic efficiency
3–5%
Best commercial PE achieved today
>50%
Marine microalgae still undescribed
150k+
Novel gene clusters — TARA Oceans
250 Years of Discovery
Photosynthesis Research — Major Milestones
1771 Priestley O₂ from plants 1905 Blackman's Law Limiting factors 1961 ★ Nobel Prize Calvin cycle 1986 Ohyama — 1st chloroplast genome 1988 ★ Nobel Prize PSII crystal structure 2007 Chlamydomonas genome 2014 CRISPR algae Jiang et al. 2023 AlphaFold → algal protein structures
Nobel Prize Algal biology milestone Genetic tools AI & computation
Efficiency Gap
Photosynthetic Efficiency Comparison
Theoretical maximum
11%
Truncated-antenna mutants
8%
Best closed PBR (lab)
5%
Best outdoor system
3%
Open raceway pond (avg)
1.5%

Based on solar irradiance capture studies. Theoretical limit derived from Bolton & Hall (1991). Truncated-antenna data from Melis et al. (2009).

Taxonomic Diversity
Major Algal Divisions
72,500 spp.
Chlorophyta 30% — green algae, most model organisms
Heterokonta 25% — diatoms, Nannochloropsis, brown algae
Rhodophyta 15% — red algae, carrageenan, agar
Cyanobacteria 12% — Spirulina, nitrogen fixation
Others 18% — Dinoflagellates, Cryptophyta, Euglenophyta
Model Organisms
Six Key Species Driving Fundamental Research
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
Green alga · Model organism
The Drosophila of algae. Fully sequenced genome (Merchant et al., 2007, Science). First CRISPR target in algae (Jiang et al., 2014). Uniquely tractable: nuclear, plastid, and mitochondrial transformable. Central model for flagellar biology and photosystem assembly.
Nannochloropsis gaditana
Ochrophyta · Industrial
EPA content 3–5% DW. Tolerant of high salinity, CO₂, and UV. Genome published 2012 (Radakovits et al., Nature Communications). Preferred industrial strain for Mediterranean outdoor production — grows year-round in Maltese conditions.
Chlorella vulgaris
Green alga · Commercial
Fastest-growing microalgae commercially deployed: up to 2.5 g/L/day. Heterotrophic capability allows dark-phase carbon loading. EU Novel Food approved. Widely used in wastewater polishing for N/P removal via luxury uptake.
Arthrospira platensis
Cyanobacterium · "Spirulina"
60–70% protein DW with complete amino acid profile. Grows at pH 9–11 — natural barrier against most contaminants. FAO-recognised human food source. Flagship for alkaline photosynthesis and selective cultivation in open ponds.
Phaeodactylum tricornutum
Diatom · Marine model
Sequenced genome 2008 (Bowler et al., Nature). Produces fucoxanthin and EPA. Silica frustule geometry relevant to biomimetic nanomaterials. The reference species for diatom-specific CRISPR workflows using electroporation delivery.
Haematococcus pluvialis
Green alga · Astaxanthin
Accumulates astaxanthin up to 4% DW under N-starvation + high irradiance stress. Two-stage commercial cultivation: green growth (inoculum PBR) then red stress phase (open raceway). Model for secondary carotenoid pathway regulation.
Field-Defining Achievements
Real Milestones That Shaped Algal Biology
1988
Nobel Prize in Chemistry — Photosystem II Crystal Structure. Hartmut Michel, Johann Deisenhofer & Robert Huber. First atomic-resolution structure of a membrane protein complex, revealing the machinery of photosynthetic oxygen evolution. Foundation for all structural photosynthesis engineering today.
1986
First Complete Chloroplast Genome Sequenced. Ohyama et al. sequenced the liverwort (Marchantia polymorpha) chloroplast genome — 121 kb encoding 128 genes. Opened the era of comparative plastid genomics. Hundreds of algal chloroplast genomes now in GenBank.
2007
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Genome Published. Merchant et al., Science 318:245–251. The first fully sequenced green microalga genome — 121 Mbp across 17 chromosomes. Revealed 6,000 genes shared with animals not found in land plants, reshaping our understanding of eukaryote evolution.
2009–13
TARA Oceans Expedition. Global marine eDNA survey yielding 150,000+ novel gene clusters from previously unknown micro-eukaryotes — the majority likely algal. Identified 5,000+ new plankton species. Established metabarcoding as the primary method for marine algal biodiversity assessment.
2017
20× Lipid Overproduction in Nannochloropsis. Ajjawi et al., Nature Biotechnology 35:647–655. Single transcription-factor knockout (ZnCys) using CRISPR caused 20-fold lipid accumulation without sacrificing growth rate — a landmark demonstration of non-obvious metabolic targets in industrial algae.
Innovation Pathways 2026–2030
Urgency & Impact — Research Priorities Rated

Research Urgency

AI species discovery (eDNA)
Very High
Truncated-antenna PE gains
High
Quantum coherence in PSII
Medium
Synthetic chloroplast design
Emerging

Commercial Impact Potential

Truncated-antenna strains
Very High
AI-driven bioprospecting
High
RuBisCO engineering
High
Hybrid artificial photosyn.
Speculative

Prospective Approach: Z-Scheme Engineering

The native Z-scheme (PSI + PSII in series) wastes ~50% of absorbed photon energy as heat. Theoretical work by Blankenship et al. (2011, Science) identified that engineering a third photosystem in series — or coupling algal PSII to synthetic quantum-dot electron acceptors — could push PE above 16%. This is the most ambitious efficiency target on the published roadmap, with first proof-of-concept hybrid membranes demonstrated in 2022 at TU Delft.

New Species Discovery
From Classical Morphology to eDNA Pipelines
Classical (pre-2000)
~5–10
new species described per year by specialist phycologists using morphology + light microscopy
Genomics era (2000–2015)
100–500
per year via 18S rDNA barcode + culture isolation pipelines in specialised labs
eDNA/metabarcoding (2015+)
1,000s
candidate new lineages per sequencing run — most undescribed in culture; bioinformatics bottleneck now exceeds wet-lab capacity

Malta as a discovery site: The central Mediterranean is an understudied biogeographic transition zone between Atlantic and Eastern Mediterranean algal communities. Conference delegates have access to a guided coastal sampling excursion on December 10 — part of the AlgaEurope site visit programme. Warm oligotrophic waters (22–26°C in summer) host endemic species not yet in any culture collection.

Key References
Foundational Literature — Track #01
2012
Guiry, M.D. — "How many species of algae are there?" Journal of Phycology 48(5):1057–1063. Canonical 72,500 estimate with extrapolation methodology.
2010
Zhu et al. — "Improving photosynthetic efficiency for greater yield" Annual Review of Plant Biology 61:235–261. RuBisCO specificity, antenna truncation, photorespiration bypass.
2011
Blankenship et al. — "Comparing photosynthetic and photovoltaic efficiencies and recognizing the potential for improvement" Science 332:805–809. Z-scheme engineering roadmap and the 16% theoretical ceiling for engineered systems.
2017
Ajjawi et al. — "Lipid production in Nannochloropsis gaditana is doubled by decreasing expression of a single transcriptional regulator" Nature Biotechnology 35:647–655. ZnCys CRISPR knockout — 20× lipid overproduction landmark.
1991
Bolton & Hall — "The maximum efficiency of photosynthesis" Photochemistry & Photobiology 53(4):545–548. Thermodynamic derivation of 11% PE ceiling.
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