Pigment-targeted light wavelength and intensity promotes efficient photoautotrophic growth of Cyanobacteria.

A consensus is lacking whether monochromatic rather than broad-spectrum illumination is more efficient for photosynthetic microbe production platforms. Light wavelength and intensity were tuned to pigment composition for growth of the Cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC 6803. Phycocyanin (PC)-targeting LEDs (620nm) provided more than 6times the peak efficiency of white LEDs, with peak efficiency growth rates of 0.063h(-1) at 81μEm(-2)s(-1) and 0.039h(-1) at 126μEm(-2)s(-1) for red and white LEDs, respectively. Chlorophyll a (Chl a)-targeting LEDs (680- and 440-nm) performed poorly. Indeed, 10 times greater mass abundance was observed for PC than Chl a. PC levels did not change while Chl a levels decreased when Synechocystis transitioned from white light at 50μEm(-2)s(-1) to 250μEm(-2)s(-1) with 620nm, 680nm, or white LEDs. This work demonstrates that light wavelengths and intensity need to be optimized for each strain.