Queen Mary University of London's Photosynthesis grouping is part of a UK consortium of scientists that will take on the world in the global race to develop a sustainable, cost-effective biofuel from algae. The “dream team” of eleven leading UK institutions was unveiled who will work together with the Carbon Trust to find a winning formula for cultivating 70 billion litres of algae biofuel a year by 2030. This will be the equivalent to 6% of road transport diesel and a saving of over 160 million tonnes of CO2 every year. The eleven institutions were selected from over 80 initial proposals following an extensive competition and detailed assessment process.

A press release and further deatils can be found here.

The element of the project headed by Queen Mary University of London will involve Screening and random mutagenesis to isolate improved algal strains for lipid production in mass culture.

Our project will use "forced evolution" to adapt marine algae for intensive cultivation, and to improve their production of biofuel precursors. We will use a fluorescence imaging technique to identify strains with photosynthetic properties likely to lead to improved growth and biofuel production under the conditions required.

Applications are invited for a Postdoctoral Research Assistant to work on a project at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) entitled ‘Screening and random mutagenesis to isolate improved algal strains for lipid production in mass culture'.

The team (headed by Prof Conrad Mullineaux, Dr Alexander Ruban and Mrs Brenda Thake) will aim to improve the photosynthetic properties of the algae Dunaliella salina and Nannochloropsis oculata for production of biodiesel precursors in mass culture.  Photosynthetic properties will be optimised by successive rounds of random mutagenesis and high-throughput chlorophyll fluorescence screening.  We are particularly interested in isolates with small light-harvesting antennae (since these will grow efficiently in mass culture) coupled with a high Photosystem II/Photosystem I ratio and a predominance of linear photosynthetic electron transport.  Such strains will generate an excess of reductant which can be channelled into hydrocarbon synthesis.  Full characterisation of selected isolates will use the outstanding equipment and expertise in our QMUL laboratories.  In collaboration with other project partners, we will establish which photosynthetic properties correlate most closely with enhanced triacylglycerol production.  Further cycles of mutagenesis and screening will generate strains with desirable combinations of characteristics.