Abstract This article has a review on the research advances of hydrogen production in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii as a renewable energy source. The mechanism of hydrogen metabolism, culture conditions, characteristics of hydrogenases and approaches to improve hydrogen productivity in C. reinhardtii using molecular biological methods, bioinformatics and bioengineering technology were addressed. The approaches includes the modification of hydrogenase's tolerance to O2, heterologous expression of hydrogenase genes, screening of enzymes essentially for H2 production, using S-deprived medium, cell immobilization or 2-stage culture method to improve H2 production. The possibility, economics and trends of bio-hydrogen production using C. reinhardtii are also analyzed.
|