• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.270-275
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• 2013

The aim of this study was to investigate the efficiency of thickness of optical panel (OP) on the growth rate of Chlorella vulgaris. The size of Chlorella vulgaris (FC-16) was $3-8{\mu}m$, having round in shape. The cells of Chlorella vulgaris was cultured in the Jaworski's Medium with deionized water at $22^{\circ}C$ for 15 days. For this experiment, three OP samples were prepared to evaluate the efficiency of thickness of OP on the growth rate of Chlorella vulgaris; 4 mm OP with LED (Light Emitting Diode) (Run 1), 6 mm OP with LED (Run 2) and 8 mm with LED (Run 3). The diffuse rate was reached 86%, 91% and 92% for Run 1, Run 2 and Run 3, respectively. Average biomass of Run 2 and Run 3 were measured 11.18% higher than that of Run 1. However, the specific growth rate for all fractions were almost same. In addition, chlorophyll content per cell and cell volume were found to be slice difference between Run 2 and Run 3. Therefore, Run 2 has more effect on growth rate of biomass for Chlorella vulgaris than Run 1 and Run 3.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.27 no.11
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• pp.1059-1072
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• 2018

Bioremediation has been recognized as a suitable alternative to conventional methods of removing contaminants, and it uses fungi, bacteria and microalgae. In contrast to other organisms, microalgae are unique in that they have the ability to perform photosynthesis like plants and to utilize organic/inorganic carbon substrates, in a process called phytoremediation. Microalgae can populate a reaction site rapidly and enhance the bioremediation efficiency. In this study, Chlorella vulgaris was used to evaluate the removal potentials of the nutrients (N and P) and heavy metals (Cu and Zn) from swine wastewater. The optimum growth conditions for Chlorella vulgaris and the removal potentials of N, P, Cu, and Zn from synthetic wastewater using Chlorella vulgaris were investigated. Based on the results, the applicability of this microalga to on-site wastewater treatment was examined. Optimal growth conditions for Chlorella vulgaris were established to be $28^{\circ}C$, a pH of 7, and light and dark cycles of 14:10 h. As the concentrations of the nutrients were increased, the efficiencies of N and P removal efficiencies by Chlorella vulgaris were decreased in the single and binary mixed treatments of the nutrients, respectively. Further, the efficiencies of Cu and Zn removal also decreased as the heavy metals concentrations added were increased, both in the single and binary mixed treatments. In addition, the efficiency of Cu removal was higher than that of Zn removal. Our results indicate that Chlorella vulgaris could be used in treatment plants for the removal of nutrients and heavy metals from swine wastewater.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.24 no.12
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• pp.1763-1766
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• 2003

Algal growth studies of Chlorella strains were conducted in a batch mode with bench type experiments. Carbon dioxide fixation rates of the following green microalgae were determined: Chlorella sp. H84, Chlorella sp. A2, Chlorella sorokiniana UTEX 1230, Chlorella vulgaris, and Chlorella pyrenoidosa. C. vulgaris, among other strains of microalgae, showed the highest growth rate (1.17 optical density/5 days). Cultivating conditions for C. vulgaris that produced the highest growth rate were at concentrations of 243 ${\mu}g\;CO_2$/mL, 10 mM ammonia, and 1 mM phosphate, with an initial pH range of 7-8.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.19-26
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• 2010

Batch experiments were conducted to investigate growth and nutrient removal performance of microalgae Chlorella vulgaris by using piggery wastewater in different concentration of pollutants and the common growth models (logistic, Gompertz and Richards) were applied to compare microalgal growth parameters. Removal of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) by Chlorella vulgaris showed correlation with biomass increase, implying nutrient uptake coupled with microalgae growth. The higher the levels of suspended solids (SS), COD and ammonia nitrogen were in the wastewater, the worse growth of Chlorella vulgaris was observed, showing the occurrence of growth inhibition in higher concentration of those pollutants. The growth parameters were estimated by non-linear regression of three growth curves for comparative analyses. Determination of growth parameters were more accurate with population as a variable than the logarithm of population in terms of R square. Richards model represented better fit comparing with logistic and Gompertz model. However, Richards model showed some complexity and sensitivity in calculation. In the cases tested, both logistic and Gompertz equation were proper to describe the growth of microalgae on piggery wastewater as well as easy to application.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.204-210
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• 2008

This study was performed to investigate effects of Chiarella vulgaris on lipid metabolism in rats fed high fat diet. Sixty 6-week-old male Wistar rats were divided into two groups; normal diet group and high fat diet group, then the rats in each group were further divided into three subgroups and fed 0%, 5% and 10% (w/w) chlorella-containing diets, respectively, and raised for 9 weeks, Serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity and total protein and albumin concentration were not different among groups. Serum total lipids and liver TG concentration were significantly lower in 5% and 10% chlorella groups than 0% chlorella group in high fat diet groups (p<0.05). Serum TG, serum total cholesterol, liver total lipid and liver total cholesterol concentrations were significantly lower in 10% chlorella groups than 0% chlorella group in high fat diet groups (p<0.05). Fecal total lipid, TG and total cholesterol excretions were significantly higher in 5% and 10% chlorella groups than 0% chlorella groups in normal diet and high fat diet groups, respectively (p<0.05). These results suggest that Chlorella vulgaris is effective for prevention of dyslipidemia which may be due to the modulation of lipid metabolism and increased fecal excretion of lipid.

• Journal of Marine Bioscience and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.26-35
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• 2024

Chlorella has various biotechnological applications, including in the biomedical and pharmaceutical industries, because of its advantages, including rich nutrients, fast growth rate, easy cultivation, and high biomass. We used the Agrobacterium-mediated transformation method to express human GM-CSF and EGF proteins, which are widely used in regenerative medicine, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical materials in Chlorella. The codon-optimized hGM-CSF and hEGF genes were cloned into plant binary vectors and transformed into Chlorella vulgaris using the Agrobacterium-mediated coculture transformation method. After transformation, genomic DNA PCR was performed for each C. vulgaris line that was stably subcultured on an antibiotic-resistant solid medium to confirm the insertion of hGM-CSF and hEGF into the chromosome. Furthermore, PT-PCR and protein expression of hGM-CSF and hEGF in each transformed C. vulgaris were significantly increased compared to the untransformed Chlorella. This study suggests that high-value proteins, including hGM-CSF and hEGF, which are foreign genes of C. vulgaris, can be stably expressed through the Agrobacterium-mediated Chlorella transformation system.

• ALGAE
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.101-109
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• 2013

Some Chlorella species grow heterotrophically with organic substrate in dark condition. However, heterotrophic Chlorella species are limited and their optimum culture conditions are not fully known. In this study, three heterotrophic Chlorella species, two strains (C4-3 and C4-4) of C. vulgaris and one Chlorella sp. (C4-8) were examined on optimum culture conditions such as carbon source, temperature, and concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus in Jaworski's medium (JM). And the growth and fatty acid composition of Chlorella were analyzed. For three heterotrophic Chlorella species, glucose (1-2%) as a carbon source only increased the growth and the range of optimum culture temperature was $26-28^{\circ}C$. Doubled concentrations of the nitrogen or phosphorus in JM medium also improved the growth of Chlorella. Chlorella cultured heterotrophically showed significantly higher growth rate and bigger cell size than those autotrophically did. C. vulgaris (C4-3) cultured heterotrophically showed the highest biomass in dry weight ($0.8g\;L^{-1}$) among three species. With respect to fatty acid composition, the contents of C16:0 and n-3 highly unsaturated fatty acid (HUFA) were significantly higher in autotrophic Chlorella than in heterotrophic one and those of total lipid were not different between different concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus in JM medium. Among three Chlorella species in this study, C. vulgaris (C4-3) appeared to be the most ideal heterotrophic Chlorella species for industrial application since it had a high biomass and lipid content.

• ALGAE
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.379-387
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to express bovine lactoferrin N-lobe in Chlorella vulgaris, a green microalga, using the pCAMBIA1304 vector. Chlorella-codon-optimized bovine lactoferrin N-lobe (Lfb-N gene) was cloned in the expression vector pCAMBIA1304, creating the plasmid pCAMLfb-N. pCAMLfb-N was then introduced into C. vulgaris by electro-transformation. Transformants were separated from BG-11 plates containing 20 ${\mu}g\;mL^{-1}$ hygromycin. Polymerase chain reaction was used to screen transformants harboring Lfb-N gene. Finally, total soluble protein was extracted from the transformants, and the expression of Lfb-N protein was detected using western blotting. Using this method, we successfully expressed bovine lactoferrin in C. vulgaris. Therefore, our results suggested that recombinant lactoferrin N-lobe, which has many uses in the biomedical and pharmaceutical industries, can be produced economically.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.7
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• pp.955-963
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• 2023

Chlorella is a eukaryotic organism that can be used as an industrial host to produce recombinant proteins. In this study, a salt-inducible promoter (SIP) was isolated from the freshwater species Chlorella vulgaris PKVL7422 from the screening of genes that were upregulated after salt treatment. Several cis-acting elements, including stress response elements, were identified in the isolated SIP. Moreover, the Gaussia luciferase gene was cloned after the SIP and transformed into C. vulgaris to test the inducibility of this promoter. Reexamination of transcriptome of C. vulgaris revealed that genes involved in the synthesis of methyl jasmonic acid (MeJA), gibberellin (GA), and abscisic acid (ABA) were upregulated when C. vulgaris was treated with salt. Furthermore, the expression level of recombinant luciferase increased when the transformed C. vulgaris was treated with salt and MeJA, GA, and ABA. This study represents the first report of the C. vulgaris SIP and highlights how transformed microalgae could be used for robust expression of recombinant proteins.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.32 no.8
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• pp.659-665
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• 2022

Chlorella vulgaris is an important freshwater alga that is widely used as a food source by humans and animals. Recently, Chlorella has received considerable attention with regard to its potential application in aquaculture and the production of biofuels, nutrients, and therapeutic proteins. Recently, our laboratory acquired a new strain of C. vulgaris, PKVL7422, characterized by fast growth, ease of culture, and cultivability under dark conditions. However, the genes involved in its nitrogen assimilation are unknown. In this work, we identified the nitrate reductase (NR) gene of C. vulgaris PKVL7422 using rapid amplification of cDNA ends and genome walking. The NR gene of C. vulgaris PKVL7422 is approximately 8 kb long and composed of 18 introns and 19 exons, which encode 877 amino acids. An alignment analysis of the NR gene showed that it possesses the five domains and several invariant residues found in plant NRs. These results provide new insight into the molecular organization of the NR gene in algae.