Cyanobacteria: Nature’s Hidden Treasure
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22201/ceide.16076079e.2026.27.2.6Keywords:
Cianobacterias, contaminación del aire, biorremediación, fotobiorreactores, desarrollo tecnológicoAbstract
Atmospheric pollution in major metropolitan areas poses a critical challenge to public health and the climate balance, driven primarily by industrial and transportation emissions. To address this issue, cyanobacteria (or blue-green algae) emerge as an innovative biotechnological solution. Through photosynthesis, these microorganisms convert sunlight and CO2 into oxygen and organic compounds, efficiently purifying the air. Currently, their urban implementation through biowalls or tree-mimicking structures enables the removal of pollutants sustainably and cost-effectively. Beyond purification, this technology offers the potential to generate valuable byproducts such as biofuels and nutritional supplements. Despite challenges —including environmental sensitivity and limited infrastructure in regions such as Mexico— the integration of cyanobacteria represents a powerful alliance between nature and science to forge a clean and sustainable urban future.
References
Agarwal, P., Soni, R., Kaur, P., Madan, A., Mishra, R., Pandey, J., Singh, S., y Singh, G. (2022). Cyanobacteria as a promising alternative for sustainable environment: Synthesis of biofuel and biodegradable plastics. Frontiers in Microbiology, 13, 939347. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.939347
Architecture & Design Team. (2014, 01 de noviembre). The Cloud Collective cultivates algae on a highway overpass in Switzerland. Architecture & Design. https://tinyurl.com/rr8cds3r
Bandyopadhyay, A., Elvitigala, T., Liberton, M., y Pakrasi, H. B. (2013). Variations in the rhythms of respiration and nitrogen fixation in members of the unicellular diazotrophic cyanobacterial genus Cyanothece. Plant physiology, 161(3), 1334-1346. https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.112.208231
Biourban. (2019, 13 de diciembre). Biourban, tecnología 100% mexicana para purificar el aire con microalgas. https://ecoinventos.com/biourban/
Clark, R. L., Gordon, G. C., Bennett, N. R., Lyu, H., Root, T. W., y Pfleger, B. F. (2018). High-CO₂ requirement as a mechanism for the containment of genetically modified cyanobacteria. acs Synthetic Biology, 7(2), 384-391. https://doi.org/10.1021/acssynbio.7b00377
Hinojosa-Castañeda, M. (2012). Evaluación del efecto del CO2 en el crecimiento y composición bioquímica de tres microalgas en condiciones de fotobiorreactor [Tesis de maestría, Centro de Investigación en Materiales Avanzados S. C.]. Repositorio cimav. https://cimav.repositorioinstitucional.mx/jspui/handle/1004/2251
Kim, D. S., Moreno-Cabezuelo, J. A., Schulz, E. N., Lea-Smith, D. J., y Sagaram, U. S. (2024). Recent advances in engineering fast-growing cyanobacterial species for enhanced CO2 fixation. Frontiers in Climate, 6, 1412232. https://doi.org/10.3389/fclim.2024.1412232
Liquid 3. (s. f.). Liquid 3. Urban Photobioreactor. https://liquid3.rs/
López, A. (2021, agosto 9). Un cambio en la duración de los días hizo posible la aparición del oxígeno que respiramos en la atmósfera. National Geographic en Español. https://www.ngenespanol.com/el-espacio/un-cambio-en-la-duracion-de-los-dias-hizo-posible-la-aparicion-del-oxigeno-que-respiramos-en-la-atmosfera/
MELiSSA Foundation. (s.f.). Photobioreactor. https://www.melissafoundation.org/page/photobioreactor
Naukas. (2023, 17 de noviembre). Las cianobacterias: unos pequeños organismos con un gran potencial biotecnológico. https://tinyurl.com/ya6cr7jh
Organización Mundial de la Salud. (2024, 24 de octubre). Contaminación del aire ambiente (exterior) y salud. https://tinyurl.com/mvv4w9dj
Parlamento Europeo. (2023, 23 de marzo). Cambio climático: gases de efecto invernadero que causan el calentamiento global. https://tinyurl.com/yek7zhr2
Philmus, B., Avalon, N. E., Ding, Y., Doering, D. T., Eustáquio, A. S., Gerwick, W. H., Luesch, H., Orjala, J., Sutherland, S., Taton, A., y Udwary, D. (2025). Green genes from blue greens: Challenges and solutions to unlocking the potential of cyanobacteria in drug discovery. Natural Product Reports, 2. https://doi.org/10.1039/D5NP00016E
Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Medio Ambiente. (2023). Nature-based Solutions for Climate Resilient Cities: Perspectives and experiences from Latin America [Disponible en español]. https://doi.org/10.59117/20.500.11822/44437
Red de Educación Continua de Latinoamérica y Europa. (2023, 3 de julio). Sostenibilidad ambiental: preservando nuestro hogar natural. https://recla.org/blog/sostenibilidad-ambiental/
Taiyo Europe. (s.f.). Food District bioreactor EXPO Milano 2015. https://tinyurl.com/yc8967sb
Touliabah, H. E.-S., El-Sheekh, M. M., Ismail, M. M., y El-Kassas, H. (2022). A Review of Microalgae- and Cyanobacteria-Based Biodegradation of Organic Pollutants. Molecules, 27(3), 1141. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27031141
Yadav, P., Singh, R. P., Rana, S., Joshi, D., Kumar, D., Bhardwaj, N., Gupta, R. K., y Kumar, A. (2022). Mechanisms of stress tolerance in cyanobacteria under extreme conditions. Stresses, 2(4), 531-549. https://doi.org/10.3390/stresses2040036
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Revista Digital Universitaria
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Revista Digital Universitaria es editada por la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México se distribuye bajo una Licencia Creative Commons Atribución-NoComercial 4.0 Internacional. Basada en una obra en http://revista.unam.mx/.
