New research demonstrated that coccolith disks made of calcium carbonate could prove to be a promising biomass resource because of their ability to efficiently produce bioenergy. 

The findings suggest there is a physiological significance of coccolith formation in E. huxleyi could be used to boost efficient bioenergy production with the microalgae, Hiroshima University reported.

Coccoliths are disk-shaped plates of calcium carbonate formed by coccolithophore algae including E. huxleyi, Giant  E. huxleyi blooms are known to modulate solar light in the ocean, but how this occurs has been less clear. Recent studies have been looking at the optical function of coccoliths in hopes of gaining insight into their powerful light manipulating abilities. To make these findings, the researchers prepared an aqueous suspension of isolated coccoliths of Emiliania cells and observed their light-scattering properties. They noticed the coccoliths showed magnetic orientation when floating in the solution, influencing the light scattering.

"Surprisingly, the percentage of coccoliths oriented in the same direction increased during exposure to the 400 mT to 500 mT magnetic field," said professor Masakazu Iwasaka of Hiroshima University. "In addition, an individual coccolith has a specific direction of light-scattering."

The findings help explain how coccoliths control light to be used for photosynthesis in E. huxleyi, and allow the method to be used in renewable energy.

"The energy issue is one of the most important problems on earth. Recently, many types of renewable energy resources such as solar light, wind, water, and biomass have attracted attention for their use as alternatives for fossil fuels," the researchers said.

The findings were published in a recent edition of the journal Scientific Reports.