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Two Stages of N-Deficient Cultivation Enhance the Lipid Content of Microalga Scenedesmus sp.

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Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society

Abstract

Scenedesmus sp. 14-3 was identified as a suitable candidate for producing biodiesel. The present work studied the effects of nitrogen concentration on the biomass and lipid productivity of algae, the consumption of sodium nitrate, and the two-stage N-deficient cultivation that could enhance dramatically the accumulation of biomass and lipids of Scenedesmus sp. 14-3. The two-stage N-deficient cultivation was described as follows: microalga Scenedesmus sp. 14-3 was cultured under low light intensity (LL) for 10 days in an N-deficient medium by 20 % inoculum concentration, and transferred to complete N-depletion BG11 under high light intensity (HL) for 8 days. The highest lipid content of Scenedesmus sp. 14-3 was 53.05 ± 0.08 % (10 % inoculum concentration) following the second stage of N-deficient cultivation after 8 days. For the second stage of N-deficient cultivation, the lipid content of Scenedesmus sp. 14-3 was 49.85 ± 0.22 %, which was 1.8 times higher than that under low light intensity (LL) (46–48 μmol m−2 s−1 ) in 10 days. Meanwhile, the high algal biomass productivity was around 0.10 g L−1 day−1 after the first stage of N-deficient cultivation (10 days) and the biomass productivity was around 0.037 g L−1 day−1 under the second stage of N-deficient cultivation (8 days). The comparison under different culture conditions showed a significant effect of the two-stage of N-deficient cultivation on lipid accumulation of Scenedesmus sp. 14-3. The two-stage N-deficient cultivation without centrifugation achieved a complete N-depletion condition, but the two-stage process required centrifugation which is unsuitable for commercialization and large-scale utilization. In summary, two-stage N-deficient cultivation is a more suitable and effective culture method for commercial applications and dramatic accumulation of lipids than the two-stage process.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by Development and Reform Commission of Fujian Province of China ([2011]1598), Agriculture Science Technology Achievement Transformation Fund of Ministry of Science and Technology of China (No.2013GB2C400228), and Southern Ocean Research Center of Xiamen.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Life Sciences, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, 350108, China

    Xiaomei Li, Mingzi Wang, Xinhui Liao, Han Chen, Youfen Dai & Bilian Chen

  2. Engineering Research Center of Industrial Microbiology of Ministry of Education, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, 350108, China

    Mingzi Wang & Bilian Chen

  3. Center of Fujian Modern Fermentation Technology and Engineering, Fuzhou, 350108, China

    Mingzi Wang & Bilian Chen

Authors
  1. Xiaomei Li
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  2. Mingzi Wang
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  3. Xinhui Liao
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  4. Han Chen
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  5. Youfen Dai
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  6. Bilian Chen
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bilian Chen.

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Li, X., Wang, M., Liao, X. et al. Two Stages of N-Deficient Cultivation Enhance the Lipid Content of Microalga Scenedesmus sp.. J Am Oil Chem Soc 92, 503–512 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11746-015-2613-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11746-015-2613-8

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