Researchers at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) have discovered something new about a very old organism and used it to transform waste from a chocolate factory into C-phycocyanin, a valuable blue pigment that is estimated to have a global market value of over US$275 million by 2030.  

The study, published in Trends in Biotechnology, outlines how Galdieria yellowstonesis, an ancient strain of red algae, can eat the sugars found in chocolate-processing waste to grow into a protein-rich biomass containing C-phycocyanin, which is used in food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical products. Adding to the findings was the unexpected discovery that high levels of carbon dioxide promote Galdieria growth. Normally, carbon dioxide is a waste produced by microbes eating sugar. 

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