Abstract
Chlorella protothecoides has been put forth as a promising candidate for commercial biodiesel production. However, the cost of biodiesel remains much higher than diesel from fossil fuel sources, partially due to the high costs of oil extraction from algae. Here, we identified the presence of a sporopollenin layer outside the polysaccharide cell wall; this was evaluated using transmission electron microscopy, 2-aminoethanol treatment, acetolysis, and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. We also performed bioinformatics analysis of the genes of the C. protothecoides genome that are likely involved in sporopollenin synthesis, secretion, and translocation, and evaluated the expression of these genes via real-time PCR. We also found that that removal of this sporopollenin layer greatly improved the efficiency of oil extraction.
Highlights
Global fossil fuel consumption has been increasing due to both population and economic growth (Lewis and Nocera, 2006), resulting in an energy shortage and a series of environmental problems such as global warming and effluent gas emissions (Chirinos et al, 2006)
We report the discovery that the cell walls of C. protothecoides are resistant to the cell wall degradation enzymes
We used a microfluidic device and monitored the propagation of single algal cells in detail. We found that these cells employ the typical Chlorella reproduction pattern and that their cell walls contain sporopollenin throughout the entire life cycle
Summary
Global fossil fuel consumption has been increasing due to both population and economic growth (Lewis and Nocera, 2006), resulting in an energy shortage and a series of environmental problems such as global warming and effluent gas emissions (Chirinos et al, 2006) In response to these challenges, vigorous research programs are underway that to develop alternative biofuels, which are considered necessary for environmental and economic sustainability (Turner, 1999). Oil extraction from C. protothecoides continues to be a significant challenge; it is highly energy consuming and because the cells are hard to break without harsh conditions such as the use of a bead beater (Xiao et al, 2015) This resistance to cell lysis may result from a special structure and/or from the composition of the cell wall. Such speculations motivated us to analyze the composition of the cell walls of C. protothecoides
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