What can you see in your mind’s eye when you hear the word microalgae?
Not the seagrass, slippery under your feet in the sea for sure, not the edible seaweed used in Asian cuisine either. The only thing microalgae share with these familiar multicellular algae species is that both thrive in water.
About three and a half billion years ago, the Earth, shrouded in dense gas clouds and vapours and covered with ancient oceans, sprouted microscopic seeds of life. It is them we call microalgae today. For the one billion years to follow they flourished, likely being the only form of life. Slowly, microalgae conquered the Earth, producing a new gas – oxygen – the environment in which over thirty million different species evolved. Today, microalgae sustain the beginning of the global food chain.[ Read more… ]