Microalgae

Microalgae, capable of performing photosynthesis, are important for life on earth; they produce approximately half of the atmospheric oxygen[2] and use the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide to grow photoautotrophically.

[8] Besides providing these valuable metabolites, microalgae are regarded as a potential feedstock for biofuels and has also emerged as a promising microorganism in bioremediation.

[10] It is possible to accumulate the desired products in microalgae to a large extent by changing environmental factors, like temperature, illumination, pH, CO2 supply, salt and nutrients.

These chemical signals affect large scale tropic structures such as algal blooms but propagate by simple diffusion and laminar advective flow.

Microalgae play a major role in nutrient cycling and fixing inorganic carbon into organic molecules and expressing oxygen in marine biosphere.

Due to their ability to grow on non-arable land microalgae may provide an alternative protein source for human consumption or animal feed.

[17][18] A range of microalgae species are produced in hatcheries and are used in a variety of ways for commercial purposes, including for human nutrition,[19] as biofuel,[20] in the aquaculture of other organisms,[21] in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals and cosmetics,[22] and as biofertiliser.