Strategic mining of cyanobacterial patents from the USPTO patent database and analysis of their scope and implications

Patent analysis with the help of the strategic mining of patents from databases is important and useful within the framework of application-oriented research and its commercialization. In the analysis reported here, we have mined cyanobacterial patents from the patent database of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). In order to make an assessment of the commercial potentials of cyanobacteria, we conducted the patent search (from 1976 to April 2006) using certain generic terms and the 84 genera of cyanobacteria as keywords. The search was performed in two major ways – searching the abstracts and claims of the patents cumulatively and searching the entire patent documents by the mode of ‘all fields’ in USPTO. In the abstract- and claims-based search, 234 patents were obtained after the removal of overlapping patents among the keywords. An additional 31 patents were added following the ‘all fields’ search; these patents were not covered in the search that was based on abstracts and claims. The entire package of 265 patents, of which 244 were related to cyanobacteria, was then analyzed. Information derived from these patents identified five major areas of cyanobacterial utilization. Cyanobacteria have been patented as a source of a wide spectrum of products, for medical, agriculture and environmental applications, for gene-based products, for methods of cultivation and for methods of control. The chronological development in granting cyanobacterial patents was also traced. This study demonstrates that such strategic mining and analysis of patent data can be used as an index for future development.     

Effects of nutrients and warming on Planktothrix dynamics and diversity: a palaeolimnological view based on sedimentary DNA and RNA

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Aims: The present study was conducted to evaluate the possibility of using cyanobacterial bloom materials as a medium for white rot fungi and the capability of white rot fungi, Trichaptum abietinum 1302BG and Lopharia spadicea to biodegrade dried cyanobacterial bloom material taken from Taihu Lake. Methods and Results: The results showed T. abietinum 1302BG and L. spadicea could use the cyanobacterial bloom materials taken from Taihu Lake for growth to measure the mycelial plaque and dry‐weight mycelial pellicles of fungi. The removal rate of dried cyanobacterial bloom materials incubated with white rot fungi is approximately 100%. Conclusions: The cyanobacterial bloom material can be used as a glucose substitute in white rot fungi medium. The white rot fungi, T. abietinum 1302BG and L. spadicea, can also directly decrease the biomass of cyanobacterial bloom material taken from Taihu Lake. Significance and Impact of the Study: Cyanobacterial bloom thrives in eutrophic fresh waters all over the world. Micro‐organisms, particularly fungi, have attracted attention as possible agents for the degradation of phytoplankton species. Dealing with cyanobacterial bloom material as a medium for fungi instead of directly discharging them as organic fertilizers is a new, safe and environmentally friendly approach.