Exploiting microalgal competition ability to acquire nitrogen and light

Microalgae are ideal phototrophs for many commercial products. Our previous research has leveraged biodiversity concepts to evaluate the effects of competition on dynamics and coexistence of different microalgal species. The originality of the review lies in the envisioning of these state‐of‐the‐art techniques to study a novel issue of how algal species modulate the whole‐cell metabolism and gene expression to yield biomass beyond current limits. Competition is crucial in driving the activity, structure and composition of algal communities which are of central importance to aquatic environment productivity. However, fundamental gaps remain in understanding how algal species compete for light and nitrogen by regulating whole‐cell metabolisms. Moreover, it is unclear how this competitive potential is modulated in algal populations to achieve high biomass production. Despite the principles and applications of competition having been tested theoretically and empirically in many studies, there is still considerable debate and paradoxical observations regarding the key mechanisms that underlie competition for limited nutrients. One reason for the uncertainty is the difficulty in making direct comparisons between species with differing functional traits. Moreover, the lack of available reference genomes for many algal species presents a further hindrance in understanding competitive trait dynamics. The review seeks to improve our understanding of these fundamental problems, which have direct implications in aiding the production of renewable fuels and chemicals via photosynthetic biology. The review also envisions a whole set of omics analysis in the future that would shed light on the poorly defined functions of competition in microalgae.