Lipid Production by Arctic Microalga Chlamydomonas sp. KNF0008 at Low Temperatures.

Abstract

A lipid-producing microalga, Chlamydomonas sp. KNF0008, collected from the Arctic was capable of growing at temperatures ranging from 4 to 20°C, and the highest cell density was measured at 15°C and 100μmol photonsm-2s-1 light intensity under continuous shaking and external aeration. KNF0008 showed the elevated accumulation of lipid bodies under nitrogen-deficient conditions, rather than under nitrogen-sufficient conditions. Fatty acid production of KNF0008 was 4.2-fold (104mgL-1) higher than that of C. reinhardtii CC-125 at 15°C in Bold's Basal Medium. The dominant fatty acids were C16:0, C16:4, C18:1, and C18:3, and unsaturated fatty acids (65.69%) were higher than saturated fatty acids (13.65%) at 15°C. These results suggested that Arctic Chlamydomonas sp. KNF0008 could possibly be utilized for production of biodiesel during periods of cold weather because of its psychrophilic characteristics.