Abstract
Bioprospection of novel autochthonous strains is key to the successful industrial-scale production of microalgal biomass. A novel Chlorococcum strain was recently isolated from a pond inside the industrial production facility of Allmicroalgae (Leiria, Portugal). Phylogenetic analysis based on 18S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) gene sequences suggests that this isolate is a novel, free-living Oophila amblystomatis strain. However, as our phylogenetic data strongly suggests that the aforementioned taxon belongs to the genus Chlorococcum, it is here proposed to rename this species as Chlorococcum amblystomatis. In order to characterize the biotechnological potential of this novel isolate, growth performance and biochemical composition were evaluated from the pilot (2.5-m3) to industrial (10-m3) scale. The highest maximum areal productivity (36.56 g·m−2·day−1) was reached in a 10-m3 tubular photobioreactor (PBR), as compared to that obtained in a 2.5-m3 PBR (26.75 g·m−2·day−1). Chlorococcum amblystomatis displayed high protein content (48%–56% dry weight (DW)) and moderate levels of total lipids (18%–31% DW), carbohydrates (6%–18% DW) and ashes (9%–16% DW). Furthermore, the lipid profile was dominated by polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). The highest pigment contents were obtained in the 2.5-m3 PBR, where total chlorophylls accounted for 40.24 mg·g−1 DW, followed by lutein with 5.37 mg·g−1 DW. Overall, this free-living Chlorococcum amblystomatis strain shows great potential for nutritional applications, coupling a promising growth performance with a high protein content as well as relevant amounts of PUFAs, chlorophyll, and carotenoids.
Highlights
Microalgal biodiversity remains largely unexplored and bioprospection efforts may represent an opportunity to discover novel metabolites and promote biomass production at lower costs [1,2].These microorganisms have been widely recognized as a cornerstone for bioeconomy and biorefinery development, due to their high applicability as feedstocks for food, feed, bioplastics, biofertilizers, and biofuels as well as for wastewater treatment and CO2 mitigation [3,4,5]
The microalgal specimen collected in the freshwater pond at the facilities of Allmicroalgae was identified based on botanical, micro-morphological features and taxonomy as Chlorococcum Meneghini
The n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) biosynthetic pathways share the same series of enzymes, the health effects are dependent on the Σn-6/Σn-3 ratio [41,46,47], which is recommended to be lower than 10 by the World
Summary
Microalgal biodiversity remains largely unexplored and bioprospection efforts may represent an opportunity to discover novel metabolites and promote biomass production at lower costs [1,2] These microorganisms have been widely recognized as a cornerstone for bioeconomy and biorefinery development, due to their high applicability as feedstocks for food, feed, bioplastics, biofertilizers, and biofuels as well as for wastewater treatment and CO2 mitigation [3,4,5]. As microalgae contain large amounts of pigments (e.g., carotenoids), many of them with known antioxidant properties and biomedically relevant bioactivities, microalgal biomass can be used to fortify or supplement food, feed, and cosmetics, improving their basic market value while providing increased health benefits [10] This is in line with the expected increase in the worldwide market size of natural pigments fueled by a growing demand for such products by the consumers [3,5]
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