One of the key challenges that we face in the 21st century is the need to feed an ever-increasing human population with increasingly limited natural resources. Even today it is estimated that roughly 1 out of 9 people in the world are undernourished, of which the most important factor is protein-energy malnutrition. By establishing microalgae as a new food and feed platform, we have the opportunity to increase the supply of these essential products to address global demands in a more efficient and environmentally sustainable way. Many types of algae are nutritionally complete foods, their yields outperform most plant crops, and there is a growing set of tools to develop improved strains of algae. Similar improvements were achieved in traditional crops through thousands of years of breeding and strain selection, whereas with the newest genetic engineering tools and advanced strain selection techniques, similar changes can be implemented in microalgae in just a few years. Here we describe different strategies that could be used to enhance the nutritional content, productivity, and organoleptic traits of algae to help drive development of this new crop. Clearly developing more efficient, sustainable, and nutritious foods and feed would be an enormous benefit for the planet, and algae represents an opportunity to develop a new crop that would complement traditional agriculture, and one that could potential result in a more efficient means to meet the world's food and feed supply.

我们在21世纪面临的主要挑战之一是需要以日益有限的自然资源养活不断增长的人口。据估计，即使到今天，世界上仍然有9人中有1人营养不良，其中最重要的因素是蛋白质能量营养不良。通过将微藻类建立为新的食品和饲料平台，我们有机会增加这些基本产品的供应量，从而以更有效和环境可持续的方式满足全球需求。许多类型的藻类都是营养丰富的食品，其产量超过大多数植物，并且有越来越多的工具可以开发出改良的藻类。通过数千年的育种和品系选择，传统农作物取得了类似的进步，而使用最新的基因工程工具和先进的品系选择技术，仅需几年即可在微藻中实现类似的改变。在这里，我们描述了可以用来提高藻类的营养含量，生产力和感官特性的不同策略，以帮助推动这种新作物的生长。显然，开发更高效，可持续和营养丰富的食品和饲料将为地球带来巨大利益，藻类代表了开发新作物的机会，该作物将补充传统农业，并有可能带来更有效的满足方式世界粮食和饲料供应。在这里，我们描述了可以用来提高藻类的营养含量，生产力和感官特性的不同策略，以帮助推动这种新作物的生长。显然，开发更高效，可持续和营养丰富的食品和饲料将为地球带来巨大利益，藻类代表了开发新作物的机会，该作物将补充传统农业，并有可能带来更有效的满足方式世界粮食和饲料供应。在这里，我们描述了可以用来提高藻类的营养含量，生产力和感官特性的不同策略，以帮助推动这种新作物的生长。显然，开发更高效，可持续和营养丰富的食品和饲料将为地球带来巨大利益，藻类代表了开发新作物的机会，该作物将补充传统农业，并有可能带来更有效的满足方式世界粮食和饲料供应。