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Searching for microalgal species producing extracellular biopolymers

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Abstract

Microalgae have been used in human applications for centuries, but in the mid-twentieth century, an industrial cultivation of some species began. In this study, 17 different microalgal species were screened for the production of extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs). EPS yields (16–1064 mg/L), carbohydrate (1–88%) and protein (0–16%) contents were found to vary greatly. Uronic acids have been identified in most EPSs, indicating their ionic nature. Monosaccharide compositions revealed the heteropolysaccharide type of all EPSs. Monosaccharide compositions revealed a high number of sugar units (6–8) in all EPSs. Besides, hexoses were found as the dominant sugar components in most species. Some EPSs were rich in deoxy-hexoses, i.e. rhamnose or fucose, and some had high pentose content, i.e. xylose or arabinose. In many EPSs partially methylated sugars have been determined. Of the 17 species of microalgae studied, six strains differed significantly in the production of EPSs from others and had a relatively high content of carbohydrates. Screening revealed the following major EPS producers: Chlorosarcinopsis sp. (Lukešová 1996/401), Klebsormidium flaccidum (Lukešová 1997/320), K. flaccidum (Kaštovská 1995/02), Dictyosphaerium chlorelloides (Kováčik 1978/11), Dictyosphaerium cf. tetrachotomum Printz (Fott 1959/1), and Dictyosphaerium cf. tetrachotomum Printz Růžička 1962/50). Dominant producers are selected for cultivation on a larger scale to obtain EPSs for detailed chemical studies and potential biological activities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Glycomics, Institute of Chemistry, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 84538, Bratislava, Slovakia

    Michal Halaj, Beata Chválová & Peter Capek

  2. Department of Plant Ecology, Biorefinery Research Centre of Competence, Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Dukelská 135, 37982, Třeboň, Czech Republic

    Vladislav Cepák & Jaromír Lukavský

Authors
  1. Michal Halaj
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  2. Beata Chválová
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  3. Vladislav Cepák
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  4. Jaromír Lukavský
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  5. Peter Capek
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Correspondence to Peter Capek.

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This work was supported by the Slovak Grant Agency VEGA (Grant no. 2/0051/18) and Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (TE 01020080).

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Halaj, M., Chválová, B., Cepák, V. et al. Searching for microalgal species producing extracellular biopolymers. Chem. Pap. 72, 2673–2678 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11696-018-0517-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11696-018-0517-4

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