cleantech, Biotech, algae
Targeted Growth Boosts Algae Yield
Luke Timmerman 7/27/09
Targeted Growth, the Seattle-based developer of renewable fuels and high-yield agricultural products, said today that its scientists have found a way to boost the amount of lipid content by 400 percent in cyanobacteria, which it says could increase the oil yield from algae enough to make it competitive on price with conventional petroleum. The company and its collaborators have identified and tested every active gene in cyanobacteria, and added some new genes, to create a strain of algae that produces higher oil yields. Targeted Growth, which was profiled last week in Xconomy, says it has filed multiple patent applications on the high-yield strain of algae.
Luke Timmerman is the National Biotechnology Editor for Xconomy. You can e-mail him at ltimmerman@xconomy.com, call 206-624-2374, or follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ldtimmerman.
