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Selecting microalgae with high lipid productivity and photosynthetic activity under nitrogen starvation

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Abstract

An economically feasible microalgal lipid industry heavily relies on the selection of suitable strains. Because microalgae lipid content increases under a range of adverse conditions (e.g. nutrient deprivation, high light intensity), photosynthetic activity is usually strongly reduced. As a consequence, lipid productivity rapidly declines overtime, after reaching a maximum within the first days of cultivation. The microalgae Chlorella vulgaris, Chlorococcum littorale, Nannochloropsis oculata, Nannochloropsis sp., Neochloris oleoabundans, Stichococcus bacillaris and Tetraselmis suecica were compared on fatty acid content and productivity, and also on photosynthetic activity under nitrogen (N) starvation. Cultures in N-replete conditions were used as reference. Photosystem II (PSII) maximum efficiency was followed during the experiment, as proxy for the change in photosynthetic activity of the cells. Strains with a high capacity for both lipid accumulation as well as high photosynthetic activity under N starvation exhibited a high lipid productivity over time. Among the tested strains, Nannochloropsis sp. showed highest fatty acid content (45 % w/w) and productivity (238 mg L−1 day−1) as well as PSII maximum efficiency, demonstrating to be the most suitable strain, of those tested, for lipid production. This study highlights that for microalgae, maintaining a high photosynthetic efficiency during stress is the key to maintain high fatty acid productivities overtime and should be considered when selecting strains for microalgal lipid production.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation, the Province of Gelderland, Biosolar Cells, BASF, BioOils, Cellulac, Drie Wilgen Development, DSM, Exxon Mobil, GEA Westfalia Separator, Heliae, Neste Oil, Nijhuis, Paques, Proviron, Roquette, SABIC, Simris Alg, Staatsolie Suriname, Synthetic Genomics, TOTAL and Unilever for financially supporting the AlgaePARC research programme. Thanks to Christa Heryanto for performing the analysis of the fatty acid samples.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bioprocess Engineering, AlgaePARC, Wageningen University, Bornsesteeg 10, P.O. BOX 16, 6721 NG, Bennekom, The Netherlands

    Giulia Benvenuti, Rouke Bosma, María Cuaresma, Marcel Janssen & René H. Wijffels

  2. Food and Biobased Research, AlgaePARC, Wageningen University and Research Center, Bornse Weilanden 9, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Maria J. Barbosa

  3. Nordland University, 8049, Bodø, Norway

    René H. Wijffels

Authors
  1. Giulia Benvenuti
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  2. Rouke Bosma
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  3. María Cuaresma
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  4. Marcel Janssen
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  5. Maria J. Barbosa
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  6. René H. Wijffels
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Correspondence to Giulia Benvenuti.

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Benvenuti, G., Bosma, R., Cuaresma, M. et al. Selecting microalgae with high lipid productivity and photosynthetic activity under nitrogen starvation. J Appl Phycol 27, 1425–1431 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-014-0470-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-014-0470-8

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