title: Promoting R & D in photobiological hydrogen production utilizing mariculture-raised cyanobacteria.
abstract: This review article explores the potential of using mariculture-raised cyanobacteria as solar energy converters of hydrogen (H(2)). The exploitation of the sea surface for large-scale renewable energy production and the reasons for selecting the economical, nitrogenase-based systems of cyanobacteria for H(2) production, are described in terms of societal benefits. Reports of cyanobacterial photobiological H(2) production are summarized with respect to specific activity, efficiency of solar energy conversion, and maximum H(2) concentration attainable. The need for further improvements in biological parameters such as low-light saturation properties, sustainability of H(2) production, and so forth, and the means to overcome these difficulties through the identification of promising wild-type strains followed by optimization of the selected strains using genetic engineering are also discussed. Finally, a possible mechanism for the development of economical large-scale mariculture operations in conjunction with international cooperation and social acceptance is outlined.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, School of Education, and Major in Bioscience and Biomedical Engineering, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Nishiwaseda 1, Shinjuku, Tokyo, 169-8050, Japan. sakurai@waseda.jp
authors.forename: Hidehiro
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sakurai
authors.forename: Hajime
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Masukawa
mesh_terms: D017756:Aquaculture; D002980:Climate; D003246:Conservation of Energy Resources; D000458:Cyanobacteria / Q000201:enzymology / Q000502:physiology*; D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D005818:Genetic Engineering / Q000639:trends; D006859:Hydrogen / Q000378:metabolism*; D010088:Oxidoreductases / Q000378:metabolism; D018462:Photobiology / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D012993:Solar Energy
chemical_list: D006859:Hydrogen; D010088:Oxidoreductases; C029746:uptake hydrogenase