Algal biomass has been touted as a promising and underutilized resource in a wide variety of applications
ranging from energy capture, nutrient fixation and waste remediation among others. SabrTech's technology
makes use of an algal community as the basis for biomass production. Traditionally, cultivation methods often
employ a single algal strain in enforced monoculture. The alternative to using single-strain (monoculture) is the
use of a 'community' composed by a variety of microorganisms (i.e. algae and bacteria), which represents a
natural, healthier scenario better than a monoculture artificially enforced.
While traditional methods provide a better degree of predictability, the community-based approach provides
several definitive advantages (e.g. decreased cost of production, long-term stability, productivity) as well as
other less definitive but potentially positive effects. A major challenge in the community-based approach is in
the characterization of a community composition that can change over time and under a variety of
environmental conditions. In this project, we turn to modern metagenomic methods that offer a systematic way
of determining microbial community composition as an important tool to maintain optimal conditions of
productivity.