Abstract
Mangrove-dwelling microalgae are well adapted to frequent encounters of salinity fluctuations across their various growth phases but are lesser studied. The current study explored the adaptive changes (in terms of biomass, oil content and fatty acid composition) of mangrove-isolated C. vulgaris UMT-M1 cultured under different salinity levels (5, 10, 15, 20, 30 ppt). The highest total oil content was recorded in cultures at 15 ppt salinity (63.5% of dry weight) with uncompromised biomass productivity, thus highlighting the ‘trigger-threshold’ for oil accumulation in C. vulgaris UMT-M1. Subsequently, C. vulgaris UMT-M1 was further assessed across different growth phases under 15 ppt. The various short, medium and long-chain fatty acids (particularly C20:0), coupled with a high level of C18:3n3 PUFA reported at early exponential phase represents their physiological importance during rapid cell growth. Accumulation of C18:1 and C18:2 at stationary growth phase across all salinities was seen as cells accumulating substrate for C18:3n3 should the cells anticipate a move from stationary phase into new growth phase. This study sheds some light on the possibility of ‘triggered’ oil accumulation with uninterrupted growth and the participation of various fatty acid types upon salinity mitigation in a mangrove-dwelling microalgae.
Highlights
Mangrove-dwelling microalgae are well adapted to frequent encounters of salinity fluctuations across their various growth phases but are lesser studied
Fatty acids that get functionalized into storage lipids are concomitantly produced with the induction of other lipid biosynthetic pathways[4], the resultant fatty acid composition is an extension of its metabolic reactions to environmental stimuli and stress
It was observed that Chlorophyta tended to synthesises saturated fatty acids (SFA) and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) while Ochrophyta preferred production of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) when s tressed[5]
Summary
Mangrove-dwelling microalgae are well adapted to frequent encounters of salinity fluctuations across their various growth phases but are lesser studied. The current study explored the adaptive changes (in terms of biomass, oil content and fatty acid composition) of mangrove-isolated C. vulgaris UMT-M1 cultured under different salinity levels (5, 10, 15, 20, 30 ppt). Experiments carried out at very high salinities (up to 150 parts per thousand (ppt)) may not be able to properly represent physiological aspects of mangrove-dwelling microalgae This current study first seeks to understand how mangrove-isolated Chlorella vulgaris UMT-M1 responded to different salinity levels in terms of biomass, oil and fatty acid production. After the salinity level coinciding with highest oil accumulation had been established, which in this case was 15 ppt, the study sought to understand the adaptative response (in terms of fatty acid production), which extended from the early exponential to late stationary growth phase. The findings show that mangrove-isolated C. vulgaris UMT-M1 may provide new perspectives towards deciphering the high yield—low biomass conundrum often encountered in stress-mediated strategies
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