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Comparative Response of Marine Microalgae to H2O2-Induced Oxidative Stress

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Abstract

There have been growing interests in the biorefining of bioactive compounds from marine microalgae, including pigments, omega-3 fatty acids or antioxidants for use in the nutraceutical and cosmetic sectors. This study focused on the comparative responses of five marine microalgal species from different lineages, including the dinoflagellate Amphidinium carterae, chlorophyte Brachiomonas submarina, diatom Stauroneis sp., haptophyte Diacronema sp. and rhodophyte Rhodella violacea, to exposure during their batch growth to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). A. carterae returned an enhanced signal with the DPPH assay (8.8 µmol Trolox eq/g DW) when exposed to H2O2, which was associated with reduced pigment yields and increased proportions in saturated C16 and C18 fatty acids. B. submarina showed enhanced antioxidant response upon exposure to H2O2 with the DPPH assay (10 µmol Trolox eq/g DW), a threefold decrease in lutein (from 2.3 to 0.8 mg/g) but a twofold increase in chlorophyll b (up to 30.0 mg/g). Stauroneis sp. showed a downward response for the antioxidant assays, but its pigment yields did not vary significantly from the control. Diacronema sp. showed reduced antioxidant response and fucoxanthin content (from 4.0 to 0.2 mg/g) when exposed to 0.5 mM H2O2. R. violacea exposed to H2O2 returned enhanced antioxidant activity and proportions of EPA but was not significantly impacted in terms of pigment content. Results indicate that H2O2 can be used to induce stress and initiate metabolic changes in microalgae. The responses were however species-specific, which would require further dosage optimisation to modulate the yields of specific metabolites in individual species.

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Funding

The authors acknowledge financial support from the VES4US project funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant Agreement No 801338.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Science, Department of Environmental Science, Centre for Environmental Research, Sustainability, and Innovation, Institute of Technology Sligo, Sligo, Ireland

    Maria Elena Barone, Rachel Parkes, Helen Herbert, Adam McDonnell, Thomas Conlon, Anita Aranyos, David Fierli & Nicolas Touzet

  2. Microbiology Department, School of Natural Sciences, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland

    Gerard T. A. Fleming

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  1. Maria Elena Barone
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  2. Rachel Parkes
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Contributions

MEB, GTAF and NT developed the experimental design. MEB conducted all experiments and analyses and led the drafting of the manuscript. RP, DF, AA, TC, HH and AMD provided technical support and helped with the FTIR, AOX, HPLC and GC–MS methods. All authors contributed to editing and finalising the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Maria Elena Barone.

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Research Highlights

• Comparative response to H2O2 treatment assessed for 5 microalgal species from different lineages.

• Results showed an enhanced antioxidant response for Rhodella violacea and an overall reduction for the other species.

• Pigment yield reduction was observed for most species except for chlorophyll b, which was enhanced in Brachiomonas submarina.

• Species-specific variations in the proportions of fatty acids were observed.

• Principal component analysis clearly separated the H2O2-treated Rhodella violacea set from the others, with higher antioxidant response and proportions of EPA.

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Barone, M.E., Parkes, R., Herbert, H. et al. Comparative Response of Marine Microalgae to H2O2-Induced Oxidative Stress. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 193, 4052–4067 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-021-03690-x

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