FURI | Summer 2020

Fast Growing Cyanobacterial Strains for Biochemical Production

Cyanobacteria are photoautotrophs that are used and studied for the production of sustainable biochemicals but are not typically used for large scale production because of their low growth rate compared to other cells, such as E-coli. Two newly discovered fast-growing strains of cyanobacteria were studied, Synechococcus elongatus UTEX 2973 and Synechococcus sp. PCC 11901, to verify their capability for production of biochemicals. Literature survey was conducted to identify optimal growth conditions for these strains along with the plasmids that could be used for biochemical production. This information can be used to test the growth rate and production of these strains.