Nitrogen modulation under chemostat cultivation mode induces biomass and lipid production by Chlorella vulgaris and reduces antenna pigment accumulation

•TN-modulated algal cultivation was performed under chemostat mode.•Antenna pigment reduction was observed at low TN concentration.•Algal biomass and lipid production increased from OLTZ.•PUFA production significantly increased at low TN concentration. Algal growth limitation in large-scale cultivat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bioresource technology 2019-06, Vol.281, p.118-125
Main Authors: Cho, Kichul, Cho, Dae-Hyun, Heo, Jina, Kim, Urim, Lee, Yong Jae, Choi, Dong-Yun, Kim, Hee-Sik
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Antenna pigment
Biomass
Chemostat
Chlorophyll
Microalgae
Nitrogen
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Summary:•TN-modulated algal cultivation was performed under chemostat mode.•Antenna pigment reduction was observed at low TN concentration.•Algal biomass and lipid production increased from OLTZ.•PUFA production significantly increased at low TN concentration. Algal growth limitation in large-scale cultivation mostly results from high level synthesis of photosynthetic pigments, owing to self-shading effects and attenuation of light distribution. To overcome this problem, here we investigated the influence of nitrogen modulation on changes in antenna pigments as well as biomass and lipid production by Chlorella vulgaris under a chemostat continuous cultivation mode. The production of algal antenna pigments, including chlorophylls and carotenoids, was promoted in a total nitrogen (TN) concentration-dependent manner. Maximum algal biomass and lipid production were obtained from 70 mg/L of TN concentration along with a significant increase in light transmittance and reduction in antenna pigments. Furthermore, the composition of polyunsaturated fatty acids remarkably augmented at low TN concentrations. These results suggest that the reduction in algal antenna pigment synthesis via modulation of nitrogen concentration may serve as an effective strategy to enhance algal biomass and lipid production.
ISSN:0960-8524
1873-2976
DOI:10.1016/j.biortech.2019.02.063