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Biochemical characterisation and fatty acid profiles of 25 benthic marine diatoms isolated from the Solthörn tidal flat (southern North Sea)

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Abstract

Twenty-five intertidal diatom species were isolated from the Solthörn tidal flat (Lower Saxony, southern North Sea) and grown in semi-continuous cultures under standardised conditions, in order to observe differences in their biochemical gross compositions (e.g. protein, lipid, carbohydrate and ash contents). Composition, expressed as % dry weight, indicated that the majority of species (52 %) contained only <15 % protein but had nearly twice the total amount of carbohydrate and two to three times higher ash content. In addition, most species contained a relatively constant percentage of lipids (19.4 to 25.6 %), whereas extraordinary high lipid contents (>30 %) were found for Amphora exigua, Gyrosigma spenceri, Pleurosigma angulatum and Gyrosigma littorale. Glucose, galactose, mannose and ribose constituted the majority of the sugars detected, although the levels of these varied between species. Lipid class composition showed high concentrations of phospholipids and galactolipids as major constituents (19–22 % and 40–43 % of total lipids). The major fatty acids in most species were 14:0, 16:0, 16:1(n-7) and 20:5(n-3). Significant differences in biochemical gross compositions were found in the temperature (10, 30 °C) and salinity tests (20, 35 PSU), suggesting special intracellular acclimatisation processes that provide possible explanations for the adaptability of the species to environmental variations and the distinct differences in the diatom assemblages.

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  1. Institute of Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, University of Oldenburg, Schleusenstrasse 1, 26382, Wilhelmshaven, Germany

    Bettina Scholz & Gerd Liebezeit

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Scholz, B., Liebezeit, G. Biochemical characterisation and fatty acid profiles of 25 benthic marine diatoms isolated from the Solthörn tidal flat (southern North Sea). J Appl Phycol 25, 453–465 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-012-9879-0

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