Cyanobacteria and Eukaryotic Microalgae

Dear Colleagues,

Cyanobacteria (photosynthetic Gram-negative prokaryotes) and eukaryotic microalgae not only have similar physiological and ecological characteristics, but also have remarkable biotechnological potential. From biological and biotechnological points of view, scientists have worked hard to gain insight into the phenotypic peculiarities and genomic characteristics of cyanobacteria and microalgae, elucidating the key aspects and principles of their growth and metabolism. Moreover, the biodiversity of cyanobacteria and microalgae represents an unexplored source of valuable metabolites with potential industrial applications. Numerous natural compounds with diverse structures and biological roles, including primary metabolites (amino acids, fatty acids, lipids, etc.) and secondary metabolites (carotenoids, vitamins, glycerol, etc.), have been identified and described, and an array of novel secondary metabolites, including biologically active compounds with antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, and anticancer activities, have been characterized. Growing in diverse habitats and requiring no arable land or clean water, eukaryotic microalgae have distinct advantages for mass culturing. They represent sustainable alternatives for biotechnological production processes as their cultivation can be driven by light and freely available CO₂ as a carbon source. One of the most promising applications, from a biotechnological point of view, is the utilization of CO₂ from flue and industrial gases as a substrate for the synthesis of bioenergetic compound precursors in biofuel production, as well as in the production of alcohols and isoprenoids, fatty acid derivatives, biopolymers, recombinant proteins, and single-cell proteins, using modern tools for genetic engineering. In the field of agriculture, potent N₂-fixing cyanobacteria could be exploited as bio-factories to produce value-added compounds for biofertilizer, sustainable feedstocks, etc. An important trend in algology is represented by complex studies that employ the integral biorefinery concept to determine the financial viability of challenging new ideas and technologies based on the culturing of cyanobacteria and microalgae, and the transfer and exploration of these technologies to an industrial scale.

Prof. Dr. Hristo Najdenski
Guest Editor

Dr. Yana E. Ilieva
Guest Editor Assistant

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Fermentation is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• cyanobacteria
• eukaryotic microalgae
• biodiversity
• natural compounds
• secondary metabolites