The discovery of Chonkus represents a breakthrough in natural carbon sequestration. Cyanobacteria like Chonkus, officially called UTEX 3222, thrive in high-CO₂ conditions, and their ability to sink makes them uniquely suited for long-term carbon capture. The team, led by researchers Dr. Max Schubert and Dr. Braden Tierney from the Wyss Institute at Harvard, discovered Chonkus near the volcanic seeps of Italy’s Vulcano Island. These conditions simulate an “extreme environment,” rich in CO₂ from volcanic activity, which provided a natural setting to isolate organisms optimized for high-density, carbon-rich growth.
When grown in lab conditions with abundant CO₂, Chonkus displayed fast growth and formed dense, compact colonies that naturally sank to the bottom of its containers, a behavior rare among cyanobacteria. This sinking ability is valuable because it could enable direct deposition of carbon into ocean sediments, thus avoiding re-release into the atmosphere. Dr. Schubert and his colleagues noted that concentrating and drying Chonkus biomass would be easier and less energy-intensive compared to other strains, given its natural aggregation. This feature could lower the costs associated with bio-manufacturing applications like algae-based omega-3 fatty acids, biofuels, and other carbon-derived compounds.
In practical terms, Chonkus might be applied in industries that rely on algae for sustainable product manufacturing. Its robust growth and sinking properties align with cost-effective carbon sequestration methods, making it attractive for industries aiming to lower their carbon footprint. The cyanobacterium’s potential has sparked interest among other researchers, and samples of Chonkus are now cryopreserved and accessible at the University of Texas’s Culture Collection of Algae. This open access allows other research groups to investigate and harness its capabilities in various climate change mitigation projects.
To ensure safe deployment, researchers like Harvard’s Dr. George Church emphasize the importance of bio-containment strategies to prevent unintended spread of Chonkus in the wild. This precaution is vital, as uncontrolled introduction of such dense, fast-growing organisms could disrupt local ecosystems. Church’s lab is working on bio-containment approaches to ensure that Chonkus can be safely deployed without environmental risk.
Overall, Chonkus is part of a new wave of climate tech that seeks to leverage natural organisms adapted to extreme environments for human applications, combining carbon capture with biomanufacturing to offer scalable climate solutions. The project has been a stepping stone for The Two Frontiers Project, a nonprofit organization co-founded by Dr. Tierney, which aims to study unique microbes in extreme environments to address global issues such as CO₂ upcycling, coral reef restoration, and carbon capture.
