Unlocking nature’s treasure-chest: screening for oleaginous algae

• Published in: Scientific reports 2015-07, Vol.5 (1), p.9844-9844, Article 9844
• Main Authors: Slocombe, Stephen P., Zhang, QianYi, Ross, Michael, Anderson, Avril, Thomas, Naomi J., Lapresa, Ángela, Rad-Menéndez, Cecilia, Campbell, Christine N., Black, Kenneth D., Stanley, Michele S., Day, John G.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 631/449/447; 631/61/252/953; 82/58; Agricultural economics; Algae; Biotechnology; Carbohydrates; Chlorella vulgaris; Competition; Environmental cleanup; Fatty acids; Food; Functional foods & nutraceuticals; Gas chromatography; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry - methods; Humanities and Social Sciences; Lipid Metabolism - physiology; Lipids; Microalgae; Microalgae - classification; Microalgae - isolation & purification; Microalgae - metabolism; multidisciplinary; Pigments; Science; Species Specificity; Spectrophotometry
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/srep09844

Micro-algae synthesize high levels of lipids, carbohydrates and proteins photoautotrophically, thus attracting considerable interest for the biotechnological production of fuels, environmental remediation, functional foods and nutraceuticals. Currently, only a few micro-algae species are grown commercially at large-scale, primarily for “health-foods” and pigments. For a range of potential products (fuel to pharma), high lipid productivity strains are required to mitigate the economic costs of mass culture. Here we present a screen concentrating on marine micro-algal strains, which if suitable for scale-up would minimise competition with agriculture for water. Mass-Spectrophotometric analysis (MS) of nitrogen (N) and carbon (C) was subsequently validated by measurement of total fatty acids (TFA) by Gas-Chromatography (GC). This identified a rapid and accurate screening strategy based on elemental analysis. The screen identified Nannochloropsis oceanica CCAP 849/10 and a marine isolate of Chlorella vulgaris CCAP 211/21A as the best lipid producers. Analysis of C, N, protein, carbohydrate and Fatty Acid (FA) composition identified a suite of strains for further biotechnological applications e.g. Dunaliella polymorpha CCAP 19/14, significantly the most productive for carbohydrates and Cyclotella cryptica CCAP 1070/2, with utility for EPA production and N-assimilation.