Maximizing photosynthetic productivity and solar conversion efficiency in microalgae by minimizing the light-harvesting chlorophyll antenna size of the photosystems

The solar conversion efficiency and productivity of photosynthesis in light-acclimated Dunaliella salina (green algae) were analyzed. Cells were grown under continuous low-light (LL; 100 {micro}mol photons/m{sup 2} s) or high-light (HL; 2,000 {micro}mol photons/m{sup 2} s) conditions. HL-grown cells exhibited signs of chronic photoinhibition, i.e., a lower pigment content, a highly truncated chlorophyll (Chl) antenna size for the photosystems, and accumulation of photodamaged photosystem-II (PSII) reaction centers in the chloroplast thylakoids. In spite of these deficiencies, high-light-grown cells showed photosynthetic productivity (300 mmol O{sub 2}/(mol Chl) s) that was {approximately} 3 times greater than that of the normally pigmented LL-grown cells ({approximately} 100 mmol O{sub 2}/(mol Chl) s). Recovery from photoinhibition in the HL-grown cells, induced in the absence of a light-harvesting Chl antenna size enlargement, increased photosynthetic productivity further to {approximately} 650 mmol O{sub 2}/(mol Chl) s. It is shown that, under moderate to high light conditions, D. salina with a highly truncated Chl antenna size will display superior photosynthetic productivity, solar conversion efficiency and H{sub 2} production when compared to the normally pigmented control cells. Estimates of H{sub 2} production in mass culture suggest an average of 200 L H{sub 2}/m{sup 2} d for the cells with the truncated Chl antenna, and less than 50 L H{sub 2}/m{sup 2} d for the normally pigmented cells.