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With fast growth rates, broad halotolerance and the ability to thrive at high temperatures, algae in the genus Picochlorum are emerging as promising biomass producers. Recently, we isolated a remarkably productive strain, Picochlorum celeri, that attains > 40 g m−2 day−1 productivities using simulated outdoor light. To test outdoor productivities, Picochlorum celeri was cultivated in 820 L raceway ponds at the Arizona Center for Algae Technology and Innovation. Picochlorum celeri demonstrated the highest outdoor biomass productivities reported to date at this testbed averaging ~ 31 g m−2 day−1 over four months with a monthly (August) high of ~ 36 g m−2 day−1. Several single day productivities were > 40 g m−2 day−1. Importantly for sustainability, Picochlorum celeri achieved these productivities in saline water ranging from seawater to 50 parts per thousand sea salts, without any biocides or pond crashes, for over 143 days. Lastly, we report robust genetic engineering tools for future strain improvements.

Haptophytes are biogeochemically and industrially important protists with underexplored genomic diversity. We present a nuclear genome assembly for the class Pavlovales, which was assembled with PacBio long-read data into highly contiguous sequences. We sequenced strain Diacronema lutheri NIVA-4/92, formerly known as Pavlova lutheri, because it has established roles in aquaculture and has been a key organism for studying microalgal lipid biosynthesis. Our data show that D. lutheri has the smallest and most streamlined haptophycean genome assembled to date, with an assembly size of 43.503 Mb and 14,446 protein-coding genes. Together with its high nuclear GC content, Diacronema is an important genus for investigating selective pressures on haptophyte genome evolution, contrasting with the much larger and more repetitive genome of the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi. The D. lutheri genome will be a valuable resource for resolving the genetic basis of algal lipid biosynthesis and metabolic remodeling that takes place during adaptation and stress response in natural and engineered environments.

Microalgae are promising biocatalysts for applications in sustainable fuel, food, and chemical production. Here, we describe culture collection screening, down-selection, and development of a high-productivity, halophilic, thermotolerant microalga, Picochlorum renovo. This microalga displays a rapid growth rate and high diel biomass productivity (34 g m−2 day−1), with a composition well-suited for downstream processing. P. renovo exhibits broad salinity tolerance (growth at 107.5 g L−1 salinity) and thermotolerance (growth up to 40 °C), beneficial traits for outdoor cultivation. We report complete genome sequencing and analysis, and genetic tool development suitable for expression of transgenes inserted into the nuclear or chloroplast genomes. We further evaluate mechanisms of halotolerance via comparative transcriptomics, identifying novel genes differentially regulated in response to high salinity cultivation. These findings will enable basic science inquiries into control mechanisms governing Picochlorum biology and lay the foundation for development of a microalga with industrially relevant traits as a model photobiology platform., Lukas Dahlin et al. report the development of Picochlorum renovo, a high-productivity, halophilic, thermotolerant microalga. They report the nuclear and chloroplast genomes, and develop a system for inserting transgenes in both organelles.

Partitioning of carbon to lipids is engineered to improve oil accumulation in an industrial alga.

Plant terpenoids are among the most diverse group of naturally-occurring organic compounds known, and several are used in contemporary consumer products. Terpene synthase enzymes catalyze complex rearrangements of carbon skeleton precursors to yield thousands of unique chemical structures that range in size from the simplest five carbon isoprene unit to the long polymers of rubber. Such chemical diversity has established plant terpenoids as valuable commodity chemicals with applications in the pharmaceutical, neutraceutical, cosmetic, and food industries. More recently, terpenoids have received attention as a renewable alternative to petroleum-derived fuels and as the building blocks of synthetic biopolymers. However, the current plant- and petrochemical-based supplies of commodity terpenoids have major limitations. Photosynthetic microorganisms provide an opportunity to generate terpenoids in a renewable manner, employing a single consolidated host organism that is able to use solar energy, H2O and CO2 as the primary inputs for terpenoid biosynthesis. Advances in synthetic biology have seen important breakthroughs in microbial terpenoid engineering, traditionally via fermentative pathways in yeast and Escherichia coli. This review draws on the knowledge obtained from heterotrophic microbial engineering to propose strategies for the development of microbial photosynthetic platforms for industrial terpenoid production. The importance of utilizing the wealth of genetic information provided by nature to unravel the regulatory mechanisms of terpenoid biosynthesis is highlighted.

>Recent advances in the metabolic manipulation of photosynthetic microorganisms for the production of biofuels have enabled the production of a suite of targeted products. Particularly salient for the production of next-generation biofuels is leveraging recently discovered enzymes that enable the synthesis of alkanes, fatty alcohols and novel terpenoids. Titers must now be improved to realize a viable biofuels industry leveraging these organisms. Many of the achievements attained in the engineering of nonphotosynthetic organisms such as yeast and Escherichia coli are likely transferable to photosynthetic microorganisms. Combining these metabolic engineering templates with the rapidly expanding palette of novel biofuel relavent enzymes has the potential to produce a consolidated bioprocessing catalyst for the conversion of sunlight and CO2 directly to commodity chemicals, without the need for secondary organisms

Photosynthetic microorganisms are able to produce a diverse array of renewable biochemical commodities. Although promising platforms for the accumulation of targeted products, these organisms must be optimized in solar energy conversion, carbon capture and utilization, and the partitioning of metabolic flux to the requisite biosynthetic pathways. Metabolic engineering efforts are systematically addressing these obstacles and demonstrate the potential to develop consolidated bioprocessing organisms that are able to efficiently transform the energy in sunlight directly to refined chemicals of economic value. Particularly intriguing are mechanisms to synthesize and secrete bioproducts of interest from cyanobacteria, thereby eliminating the need to dewater and process cellular biomass. Significant advances in more classical approaches to triacylglycerol and carbohydrate accumulation in algae have also recently been realized. Importantly, genetic tools and sequenced genomes are emerging for some of the most biotechnologically relevant strains. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 32: 989–1001, 2013

Nannochloropsis species have emerged as leading phototrophic microorganisms for the production of biofuels. Several isolates produce large quantities of triacylglycerols, grow rapidly, and can be cultivated at industrial scales. Recently, the mitochondrial, plastid and nuclear genomes of Nannochloropsis gaditana were sequenced. Genomic interrogation revealed several key features that likely facilitate the oleaginous phenotype observed in Nannochloropsis, including an over-representation of genes involved in lipid biosynthesis. Here we present additional analyses on gene orientation, vitamin B12 requiring enzymes, the acetyl-CoA metabolic node, and codon usage in N. gaditana. Nuclear genome transformation methods are established with exogenous DNA integration occurring via either random incorporation or by homologous recombination, making Nannochloropsis amenable to both forward and reverse genetic engineering. Completion of a draft genomic sequence, establishment of transformation techniques, and robust outdoor growth properties have positioned Nannochloropsis as a new model alga with significant potential for further development into an integrated photons-to-fuel production platform.

A promising renewable energy scenario involves growing photosynthetic microalgae as a biofuel feedstock that can be converted into fungible, energy-dense fuels. Microalgae transform the energy in sunlight into a variety of reduced-carbon storage products, including triacylglycerols, which can be readily transformed into diesel fuel surrogates. To develop an economically viable algal biofuel industry, it is important to maximize the production and accumulation of these targeted bioenergy carriers in selected strains. In an effort to identify promising feedstock isolates we developed, evaluated and optimized contemporary high-throughput cell-sorting techniques to establish a collection of microalgae isolated from highly diverse ecosystems near geographic areas that are potential sites for large-scale algal cultivation in the Southwest United States. These efforts resulted in a culture collection containing 360 distinct microalgal strains. We report on the establishment of this collection and some preliminary qualitative screening studies to identify important biofuel phenotypes including neutral lipid accumulation and growth rates. As part of this undertaking we determined suitable cultivation media and evaluated cryopreservation techniques critical for the long-term storage of the microorganisms in this collection. This technique allows for the rapid isolation of extensive strain biodiversity that can be leveraged for the selection of promising bioenergy feedstock strains, as well as for providing fundamental advances in our understanding of fundamental algal biology.

To improve bioenergy production from photosynthetic microorganisms it is necessary to optimize an extensive network of highly integrated biological processes. Systematic advances in pathway engineering and culture modification have resulted in strains with increased yields of biohydrogen, lipids, and carbohydrates, three bioenergy foci. However, additional improvements in photosynthetic efficiency are necessary to establish a viable system for biofuel production. Advances in optimizing light capture, energy transfer, and carbon fixation are essential, as the efficiencies of these processes are the principal determinants of productivity. However, owing to their regulatory, catalytic, and structural complexities, manipulating these pathways poses considerable challenges. This review covers novel developments in the optimization of photosynthesis, carbon fixation, and metabolic pathways for the synthesis of targeted bioenergy carriers.

Biofuels derived from algal energy carriers, including lipids, starch and hydrogen, offer a promising, renewable alternative to fossil fuels. Unfortunately, native algal metabolisms are not optimized for the accumulation of these renewable bioenergy carriers. Systems biology, which includes genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics and lipidomics, can inform and provide key insights to advance algal strain development for biotechnological applications. Recent advances in analytical technologies have enabled these sophisticated, high-throughput, holistic ‘omics’ techniques to generate highly accurate and quantitative datasets that can be leveraged to improve biofuel phenotypes in phototrophic microorganisms. The study of algal genomes and transcriptomes allows for the identification of genes, metabolic pathways and regulatory networks. Investigations of algal proteomes reveal protein levels, locations and post-translational modifications, while study of the metabolome reveals metabolite fluxes an...

There are currently intensive global research efforts aimed at increasing and modifying the accumulation of lipids, alcohols, hydrocarbons, polysaccharides, and other energy storage compounds in photosynthetic organisms, yeast, and bacteria through genetic engineering. Many improvements have been realized, including increased lipid and carbohydrate production, improved H 2 yields, and the diversion of central metabolic intermediates into fungible biofuels. Photosynthetic microorganisms are attracting considerable interest within these efforts due to their relatively high photosynthetic conversion efficiencies, diverse metabolic capabilities, superior growth rates, and ability to store or secrete energy-rich hydrocarbons. Relative to cyanobacteria, eukaryotic microalgae possess several unique metabolic attributes of relevance to biofuel production, including the accumulation of significant quantities of triacylglycerol; the synthesis of storage starch (amylopectin and amylose), which is similar to that found in higher plants; and the ability to efficiently couple photosynthetic electron transport to H 2 production. Although the application of genetic engineering to improve energy production phenotypes in eukaryotic microalgae is in its infancy, significant advances in the development of genetic manipulation tools have recently been achieved with microalgal model systems and are being used to manipulate central carbon metabolism in these organisms. It is likely that many of these advances can be extended to industrially relevant organisms. This review is focused on potential avenues of genetic engineering that may be undertaken in order to improve microalgae as a biofuel platform for the production of biohydrogen, starch-derived alcohols, diesel fuel surrogates, and/or alkanes.

There is currently substantial interest in utilizing eukaryotic algae for the renewable production of several bioenergy carriers, including starches for alcohols, lipids for diesel fuel surrogates, and H2 for fuel cells. Relative to terrestrial biofuel feedstocks, algae can convert solar energy into fuels at higher photosynthetic efficiencies, and can thrive in salt water systems. Recently, there has been considerable progress in identifying relevant bioenergy genes and pathways in microalgae, and powerful genetic techniques have been developed to engineer some strains via the targeted disruption of endogenous genes and/or transgene expression. Collectively, the progress that has been realized in these areas is rapidly advancing our ability to genetically optimize the production of targeted biofuels.

To mitigate some of the potentially deleterious environmental and agricultural consequences associated with current land-based-biofuel feedstocks, we propose the use of biofuels derived from aquatic microbial oxygenic photoautotrophs (AMOPs), more commonly known as cyanobacteria, algae, and diatoms. Herein we review their demonstrated productivity in mass culturing and aspects of their physiology that are particularly attractive for integration into renewable biofuel applications. Compared with terrestrial crops, AMOPs are inherently more efficient solar collectors, use less or no land, can be converted to liquid fuels using simpler technologies than cellulose, and offer secondary uses that fossil fuels do not provide. AMOPs pose a new set of technological challenges if they are to contribute as biofuel feedstocks.

Microalgae represent an exceptionally diverse but highly specialized group of micro-organisms adapted to various ecological habitats. Many microalgae have the ability to produce substantial amounts (e.g. 20-50% dry cell weight) of triacylglycerols (TAG) as a storage lipid under photo-oxidative stress or other adverse environmental conditions. Fatty acids, the building blocks for TAGs and all other cellular lipids, are synthesized in the chloroplast using a single set of enzymes, of which acetyl CoA carboxylase (ACCase) is key in regulating fatty acid synthesis rates. However, the expression of genes involved in fatty acid synthesis is poorly understood in microalgae. Synthesis and sequestration of TAG into cytosolic lipid bodies appear to be a protective mechanism by which algal cells cope with stress conditions, but little is known about regulation of TAG formation at the molecular and cellular level. While the concept of using microalgae as an alternative and renewable source of lipid-rich biomass feedstock for biofuels has been explored over the past few decades, a scalable, commercially viable system has yet to emerge. Today, the production of algal oil is primarily confined to high-value specialty oils with nutritional value, rather than commodity oils for biofuel. This review provides a brief summary of the current knowledge on oleaginous algae and their fatty acid and TAG biosynthesis, algal model systems and genomic approaches to a better understanding of TAG production, and a historical perspective and path forward for microalgae-based biofuel research and commercialization.

Mercuric ion reductase (MerA), a mercury detoxification enzyme, has been tuned by evolution to have high specificity for mercuric ions (Hg2+) and to catalyze their reduction to a more volatile, less toxic elemental form. Here, we present a biochemical and structural characterization of MerA from the thermophilic crenarchaeon Metallosphaera sedula. MerA from M. sedula is a thermostable enzyme, and remains active after extended incubation at 97 °C. At 37 ᵒC, the NADPH oxidation-linked Hg2+ reduction specific activity was found to be 1.9 µmol/min•mg, increasing to 3.1µmol/min•mg at 70 °C. M. sedula MerA crystals were obtained and the structure was solved to 1.6 Å, representing the first solved crystal structure of a thermophilic MerA. Comparison of both the crystal structure and amino acid sequence of MerA from M. sedula to mesophillic counterparts provides new insights into the structural determinants that underpin the thermal stability of the enzyme.

Enolase catalyzes the conversion of 2-phosphoglycerate to phosphoenolpyruvate during both glycolysis and gluconeogenesis and is required by all three domains of life. Here, we report the purification and biochemical and structural characterization of enolase from Chloroflexus aurantiacus, a thermophilic andanoxygenic phototroph affiliated with the green non-sulfur bacteria. The protein was purified as a homodimer with a subunit molecular weight of 46 kDa. The temperature optimum for enolase catalysis was 80°C, close to the measured thermal stability of the protein which was determined to be 75°C, while the pH optimum for enzyme activity was 6.5. The specific activities of purified enolase determined at 25°C and 80°C were 147 and 300 units/mg of protein, respectively. Km values for the 2-phosphoglycerate/phosphoenolpyruvate reaction determined at 25°C and 80°C were 0.16 mM and 0.03 mM, respectively. The Km values for Mg2+ binding at these temperatures were 2.5 mM and 1.9 mM, respectively. When compared to enolase from mesophiles, the biochemical and structural properties of enolase from C. aurantiacus are consistent with this being thermally adapted. This data is consistent with the results of our phylogenetic analysis of enolase, which reveal that enolase has a thermophilic origin.

Cyanobacterial glycogen-deficient mutants display impaired degradation of light-harvesting phycobilisomes under nitrogen-limiting growth conditions and secrete a suite of organic acids as a putative reductant-spilling mechanism. This genetic background, therefore, represents an important platform to better understand the complex relationships between light harvesting, photosynthetic electron transport, carbon fixation, and carbon/nitrogen metabolisms. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of the dynamics of photosynthesis as a function of reductant sink manipulation in a glycogen-deficient glgC mutant of Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7002. The glgC mutant showed increased susceptibility to photoinhibition during the initial phase of nitrogen deprivation. However, after extended periods of nitrogen deprivation, glgC mutant cells maintained higher levels of photosynthetic activity than the wild type, supporting continuous organic acid secretion in the absence of biomass accumulation. In contrast to the wild type, the glgC mutant maintained efficient energy transfer from phycobilisomes to photosystem II (PSII) reaction centers, had an elevated PSII/PSI ratio as a result of reduced PSII degradation, and retained a nitrogen-replete-type ultrastructure, including an extensive thylakoid membrane network, after prolonged nitrogen deprivation. Together, these results suggest that multiple global signals for nitrogen deprivation are not activated in the glgC mutant, allowing the maintenance of active photosynthetic complexes under conditions where photosynthesis would normally be abolished.

Efforts in this project focused on H2/biofuels production and metabolism in eukaryotic algae and cyanobacteria. These research efforts led to over thirty-four publications in the three-year project performance period, including publications in the top tier journals Nature Communications and Science. A principal focus in this iteration of research was the development of new model systems for algal H2 and biofuels production. This led to the genome sequencing of Nannochloropsis gaditana and the development of genetic transformation protocols for this algal. These results were published in Nature Communications and this alga is poised to become a new biotechnologically relevant model system. We also successfully developed fatty acid and terpenoid biosynthesis/secretion modules in the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002. This very promising approach allows the transformation of sunlight to biofuels that are secreted and do not require costly phototroph harvesting, dewatering and deconstruction steps to obtain the biofuel precursors.

The plant terpenoids limonene (C10H16) and α-bisabolene (C15H24) are hydrocarbon precursors to a range of industrially relevant chemicals. High-titer microbial synthesis of limonene and α-bisabolene could pave the way for advances in in vivo engineering of tailor-made hydrocarbons, and production at commercial scale. We have engineered the fast-growing unicellular euryhaline cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 to produce yields of 4 mg L(-1) limonene and 0.6 mg L(-1) α-bisabolene through heterologous expression of the Mentha spicatal-limonene synthase or the Abies grandis (E)-α-bisabolene synthase genes, respectively. Titers were significantly higher when a dodecane overlay was applied during culturing, suggesting either that dodecane traps large quantities of volatile limonene or α-bisabolene that would otherwise be lost to evaporation, and/or that continuous product removal in dodecane alleviates product feedback inhibition to promote higher rates of synthesis. We also investigate limonene and bisabolene production in the ΔglgC genetic background, where carbon partitioning is redirected at the expense of glycogen biosynthesis. The Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 ΔglgC mutant excreted a suite of overflow metabolites (α-ketoisocaproate, pyruvate, α-ketoglutarate, succinate, and acetate) during nitrogen-deprivation, and also at the onset of stationary growth in nutrient-replete media. None of the excreted metabolites, however, appeared to be effectively utilized for terpenoid metabolism. Interestingly, we observed a 1.6- to 2.5-fold increase in the extracellular concentration of most excreted organic acids when the ΔglgC mutant was conferred with the ability to produce limonene. Overall, Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 provides a highly promising platform for terpenoid biosynthetic and metabolic engineering efforts.

Although significant advances in H2 photoproduction have recently been realized in fresh water algae (e.g. Chlamydomonas reinhardtii), relatively few studies have focused on H2 production and hydrogenase adaptations in marine or halophilic algae. Salt water organisms likely offer several advantages for biotechnological H2 production due to the global abundance of salt water, decreased H2 and O2 solubility in saline and hypersaline systems, and the ability of extracellular NaCl levels to influence metabolism. We screened unialgal isolates obtained from hypersaline ecosystems in the southwest United States and identified two distinct halophilic strains of the genus Tetraselmis (GSL1 and QNM1) that exhibit both robust fermentative and photo H2-production activities. The influence of salinity (3.5%, 5.5% and 7.0% w/v NaCl) on H2 production was examined during anoxic acclimation, with the greatest in vivo H2-production rates observed at 7.0% NaCl. These Tetraselmis strains maintain robust hydrogenase activity even after 24 h of anoxic acclimation and show increased hydrogenase activity relative to C. reinhardtii after extended anoxia. Transcriptional analysis of Tetraselmis GSL1 enabled sequencing of the cDNA encoding the FeFe-hydrogenase structural enzyme (HYDA) and its maturation proteins (HYDE, HYDEF and HYDG). In contrast to freshwater Chlorophyceae, the halophilic Tetraselmis GSL1 strain likely encodes a single HYDA and two copies of HYDE, one of which is fused to HYDF. Phylogenetic analyses of HYDA and concatenated HYDA, HYDE, HYDF and HYDG in Tetraselmis GSL1 fill existing knowledge gaps in the evolution of algal hydrogenases and indicate that the algal hydrogenases sequenced to date are derived from a common ancestor. This is consistent with recent hypotheses that suggest fermentative metabolism in the majority of eukaryotes is derived from a common base set of enzymes that emerged early in eukaryotic evolution with subsequent losses in some organisms.

Corrigendum: Draft genome sequence and genetic transformation of the oleaginous alga Nannochloropsis gaditana

Renewable diesel surrogates made from shorter chain length fatty acids have improved cold flow properties. Acyl-ACP thioesterases specific for shorter chain length fatty acids are therefore of considerable interest in the genetic engineering of biofuel producing organisms, both for their ability to increase the production of shorter fatty acids, and for their involvement in fatty acid secretion in bacterial systems. Here we show that the heterologous expression of two thioesterases, biased towards the production of lauric (C12:0) and myristic acid (C14:0), causes increased accumulation of shorter chain length fatty acids in the eukaryotic microalga Phaeodactylum tricornutum. Accumulation of shorter chain length fatty acids corresponds to transgene transcript levels. We achieved levels of C12:0 of up to 6.2% of total fatty acids and C14:0 of up to 15% by weight. Unlike observations in cyanobacteria, no significant secretion of fatty acids was observed. Instead, we found that 75–90% of the shorter chain length fatty acids produced was incorporated into triacylglycerols. Our results demonstrate that overexpression of thioesterases is a valid way to improve the biofuel production phenotype of eukaryotic microalgae.

Several species of green algae use [FeFe]-hydrogenases to oxidize and/or produce H(2) during anoxia. To further define unique aspects of algal hydrogenase activity, the well-studied anaerobic metabolisms of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii were compared with four strains of Chlamydomonas moewusii and a Lobochlamys culleus strain. In vivo and in vitro hydrogenase activity, starch accumulation/degradation, and anaerobic end product secretion were analyzed. The C. moewusii strains showed the most rapid induction of hydrogenase activity, congruent with high rates of starch catabolism, and anoxic metabolite accumulation. Intriguingly, we observed significant differences in morphology and hydrogenase activity in the C. moewusii strains examined, likely the result of long-term adaptation and/or genetic drift during culture maintenance. Of the C. moewusii strains examined, SAG 24.91 showed the highest in vitro hydrogenase activity. However, SAG 24.91 produced little H(2) under conditions of sulfur limitation, which is likely a consequence of its inability to utilize exogenous acetate. In L. culleus, hydrogenase activity was minimal unless pulsed light was used to induce significant H(2) photoproduction. Overall, our results demonstrate that unique anaerobic acclimation strategies have evolved in distinct green algae, resulting in differential levels of hydrogenase activity and species-specific patterns of NADH reoxidation during anoxia.

A gene-shuffling technique was identified, optimized and used to generate diverse libraries of recombinant [FeFe]-hydrogenases. Six native [FeFe]-hydrogenase genes from species of Clostridia were first cloned and separately expressed in Escherichia coli concomitantly with the assembly proteins required for [FeFe]-hydrogenase maturation. All enzymes, with the exception of C. thermocellum HydA, exhibited significant activity when expressed. Single-stranded DNA fragments from genes encoding the two most active [FeFe]-hydrogenases were used to optimize a gene-shuffling protocol and generate recombinant enzyme libraries. Random sampling demonstrates that several shuffled products are active. This represents the first successful application of gene-shuffling using hydrogenases. Moreover, we demonstrate that a single set of [FeFe]-hydrogenase maturation proteins is sufficient for the heterologous assembly of the bioinorganic active site of several native and shuffled [FeFe]-hydrogenases.

Background The model alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii requires acetate as a co-substrate for optimal production of lipids, and the addition of acetate to culture media has practical and economic implications for algal biofuel production. Here we demonstrate the growth of C. reinhardtii on acetate provided by mutant strains of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002. Results Optimal growth conditions for co-cultivation of C. reinhardtii with wild-type and mutant strains of Synechococcus sp. 7002 were established. In co-culture, acetate produced by a glycogen synthase knockout mutant of Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 was able to support the growth of a lipid-accumulating mutant strain of C. reinhardtii defective in starch production. Encapsulation of Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 using an alginate matrix was successfully employed in co-cultures to limit growth and maintain the stability. Conclusions The ability of immobilized strains of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 to produce acetate at a level adequate to support the growth of lipid-accumulating strains of C. reinhartdii offers a potentially practical, photosynthetic alternative to providing exogenous acetate into growth media. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13068-014-0154-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.