Fossil records date Scenedesmus from 70 to 100 million years ago with Desmodesmus suspected to be the youngest of these three groups.

[1] Scenedesmus is one of the most common freshwater algae genera; however, the extremely diverse morphologies found within species make identification difficult.

[4] Successful growth and division for algae relies on a balance between maintaining buoyancy in the euphotic zone (containing ideal light and nutritional conditions) and avoidance of grazing predators.

[4] Larger colonies have a smaller surface-to-volume ratio, which limits nutrient uptake and light harvesting, and the large mass promotes sinking.

However, in the presence of grazers, such as Daphnia, that threaten to consume unicellular algae, the larger colonies provide significant security.

[4] Cells defensively form these bristles when kairomones are detected, an infochemical released by Daphnia that Scenedesmus has evolved to recognize as a warning signal.

[7] Another feature of the outer coenobial surface of S. pannonicus is a combination of individual spikes (seemingly connected to the warts) and small spikelets that fuse to form combs that zigzag along the cell.

Major challenges include nutrient supply and recycling, gas transfer and exchange, PAR (Photosynthetically Active Radiation) delivery, cultural integrity, environmental control, land and water availability, harvesting, and genetic and metabolic engineering[10] In 1942, Gaffron and Rubin may be credited with conducting an experiment that sparked H2 production research in green algae using Scenedesmus obliquus.

[11] Algae produce H2 gas under anaerobic conditions by providing hydrogenases with hydrogen ions derived from splitting of water molecules via photosynthesis.

[15] H2 production independent of Photosystem II in Scenedesmus has also been performed using redox equivalents of fermentative metabolism under dark anaerobic incubation.

[11][16] Research findings suggest that a sulfur-deprived environment triggers an imbalance in the photosynthesis and respiration relationship, resulting in net consumption of O2, causing anaerobiosis, and switching to hydrogen production.

[23] A significant improvement (up to six-fold) of feedstock yields was achieved by adding varying concentrations of ethanol under a 12-hour photoperiod and in the dark.

[19] Extraction of oils with methanol or ethanol from the Scenedesmus remains a challenge and its lower lipid content adds to the cost of production.

[19] In a recent study,[25] Scenedesmus abundans was isolated from Dal Lake, Kashmir and proved to be a suitable raw material for biodiesel production.

[25] Scenedesmus, and other microalgae such as Chlorella, Dunaliella, Chlamydomonas, and Spirulina, contain large amounts of carbohydrate (>50% of the dry weight), which make them attractive candidates for bioethanol production.

However, isoprenoid yields were too low (1.5~15 mg per 10 liter of Scenedesmus culture when cells reached 0.5-0.6 g L−1) to be considered viable for future drop-in fuel production.

[33] Algal Turf Scrubber (ATS) is one of many technologies that utilize algae for treating variety of wastes and industrially polluted waters.