Enhancing the Cellular Robustness of Cyanobacteria to Improve the Stability and Efficiency of Bio-Photovoltaics
Solar photovoltaic technology has consistently been regarded as a crucial direction for the development of clean energy systems in the future. Bio-photovoltaics (BPV), an emerging solar energy utilization technology, is mainly based on the photosynthesis process of photoautotrophic organisms to conv...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Life |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/15/2/299 |
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| Summary: | Solar photovoltaic technology has consistently been regarded as a crucial direction for the development of clean energy systems in the future. Bio-photovoltaics (BPV), an emerging solar energy utilization technology, is mainly based on the photosynthesis process of photoautotrophic organisms to convert solar energy into electrical energy and output a photocurrent via extracellular electron transfer. As the fundamental unit of the bio-photovoltaic system, the stability of photosynthetic microorganisms under fluctuating and stressful light and heat conditions is likely to have a significant influence on the efficiency of bio-photovoltaic devices. However, this aspect has often been overlooked in previous bio-photovoltaics research. This study took an important cyanobacteria chassis strain, <i>Synechococ elongatus</i> PCC 7942, as the model organism and explored the impact of physiological robustness optimization on its performance as a bio-photovoltaic functional unit. In this work, two types of BPV systems, namely the suspension mode and the biofilm attachment mode, were assembled to evaluate the electricity-generating activity of <i>Synechococcus</i> cells. Overall, the latter demonstrated a remarkable photoelectric output performance. When its light and temperature tolerance was enhanced through FoF1-ATP synthase engineering, the optimized <i>Synechococcus</i> strain exhibited stronger photosynthetic physiology and photoelectric output activity. Under the condition of a light intensity of 2400 μmol photons/m<sup>2</sup>/s, the maximum photocurrent output of the <i>Synechococcus</i>-based BPV device was increased significantly by 41% over the system based on the wild-type control strain. The results of this study provided a new perspective for the future development and optimization of bio-photovoltaics. |
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| ISSN: | 2075-1729 |