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This sort of thing might actually work according to George Church. However, it would require one more very important step. Most blue green algae do not live l
by formvoltron 5y ago
This sort of thing might actually work according to George Church. However, it would require one more very important step.
Most blue green algae do not live long. They are swiftly killed by a virus that has evolved to kill that particular algae.
cyanobacteria (BG algae) are hyper prevalent. However, so are cyanophages. Once killed the cyanobacteria re-release the carbon they sequestered back into the environment.
The idea is to genetically modify cyanobacteria to be unaffected by its cyanophage.
These organisms would then flourish, sucking insane amounts of CO2 out of the atmosphere and then eventually sinking to the bottom, where apparently it is harder for them to be re-consumed and their carbon to be re-introduced to the atmosphere.
Interesting idea...
- pvaldes 5y agoBut could enter easily in trophic chains of mollusc filterers, that make durable shells lasting for many years.
- PeterisP 5y agoI would think that it's effectively impossible to modify cyanobacteria to be unaffected by "its cyanophage" (it would be many different cyanophages, wouldn't it?) in the long run - you can create a strain that's immune to the currently popular cyanophages, but viruses and phages do mutate quickly and given a cyanobacteria bloom I'd expect another functioning phage to emerge soon. Also, it seems to me that a major cyanobacteria explosion would be sufficiently fundamental to screw up the whole ecosystem around them; it might help carbon capture but at a cost/risk to other green values such as biodiversity and security of the ocean-based food chain for humans.