• KSBB Journal
• /
• v.15 no.6
• /
• pp.644-648
• /
• 2000

Biological fixation of carbon dioxide using microalgae is known as an effective CO$_2$reduction technology. However, many environmental factors influence microalgal productivity. Optimal cultivation factors were determined for the green alga, Euglena gracilis Z, which offers high protein and vitamin E content for animal fodder. In batch culture in a photovioreactor, it was found that theinitial pH, temperature, CO$_2$concentration in air, and light intensity during the optimal cultivating conditions were 3.5, 27$^{\circ}C$, 5-10% and 520 ${\mu}$mol/㎡/s, respectively. When tap water and freshwater were used as cultivating media unsterilized tap water was found to be effective. A kinetic model was considered to determine the relationship between the specific growth rate and the light intensity. The half-velocity coefficient (K(sub)I) in the Monod model under photoautotrophic conditions was 978.9 ${\mu}$mol/㎡/s.

• Journal of Species Research
• /
• v.11 no.2
• /
• pp.89-93
• /
• 2022

Three heterotrophic euglenids from marine water column (Seodo port, Yeosu) and freshwater sediment (Seodong-chun, Incheon), Korea were identified as Entosiphon oblongum Cavalier-Smith and Vickerman, 2016; Euglena longa (Pringsheim, 1936) Marin and Melkonian, 2003; and Keelungia pulex Chan and Moestrup, 2013 based on morphological characters and 18S rDNA sequence analysis. These species are reported taxonomically for the first time from Korea and are described with micrographs. Diagnoses of these species are as follows. Entosiphon oblongum: phagotrophic, gliding, size in vivo, 23.1-29.3 ㎛ (Avg. 26.5 ㎛, n=30) long, ovate with a protrusive feeding siphon (apparatus), several deep grooves and two heterodynamic flagella. Euglena longa: osmotrophic, swimming, size in vivo, 32.3-52.2 ㎛ (Avg. 42.2 ㎛, n=26) long, elongated with many paramylum granules and two flagellar. Keelungia pulex: phagotrophic, gliding, size in vivo, 13.5-19.7 ㎛(Avg. 16.4 ㎛, n=97) long, oblong to ovoid with a hook-shaped ingestion apparatus, several dorsal ridges and two flagella.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• /
• v.49 no.1
• /
• pp.38-44
• /
• 2016

The quality and quantity of live food sources strongly influence the success of fish production in farming operations. Thus, critical studies of live forage species are a crucial element for progress in fish aquaculture. The fat content of food is an especially important determinant of growth in marine fish. Omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA) are essential components of diet that determine the nutritional value of larval fish. Euglena is a protist that has potential as a forage species. These single-celled organisms have plant and animal characteristics they are motile, elliptical in shape and 15–500 μm in diameter. Their nutritional content is excellent, but most studies have focused on cells raised in autotrophic culture. We therefore examined differences in the lipid and fatty acid contents, and the growth of Euglena cells grown under autotrophic, heterotrophic, and mixotrophic conditions. Biomass production reached 15.03 g/L, 12.28 g/L, and 3.66 g/L under mixotrophy, heterotrophy, and autotrophy, respectively. The proportional n-3 HUFA content differed among culture methods: 10.04%, 5.80% and 10.01% in mixotrophic, heterotrophic and autotrophic cultures, respectively. Mixotrophy was to be the best form of cultivation for improving the growth and nutritional content of Euglena.

• Journal of fish pathology
• /
• v.24 no.3
• /
• pp.307-313
• /
• 2011

To examine the effects of Euglena rubra (E. rubra) feeding on Nile tiapia, Oreochromis niloticus were fed diets containing dried powder of E. rubra at 0.5 or 2% for 4 weeks. Growth, selected hematological and non-specific immune parameters were assessed at 2 and 4 weeks. There were no significant changes in body weigh gain and erythrocyte levels. However a significant and diet E. rubra level-related decrease in leukocyte level was noted. Significant increases were observed in respiratory burst activity (nitroblue tetrazolium reduction) and lysozyme activities following E. rubra feeding. These results indicate that E. rubra could be beneficial to fish, but excess feeding could toxic.

• Journal of Photoscience
• /
• v.9 no.2
• /
• pp.98-101
• /
• 2002

Euglena gracilis abruptly changes its swimming direction after a sudden increase or decrease in incident light intensity, that is, step-up or step-down photophobic responses, resulting in photoavoidance or photoaccumulation, respectively. To identify the photoreceptor molecules for these UV-A/blue-light type photobehaviors, we purified a flavoprotein from isolated putative photosencory organelles (PFBs) of Euglena. The purified flavoprotein, which noncovalently bound flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD), seemed to be a heterotetramer of alpha- and beta-subunits. Predicted amino acid sequences of each of the subunits were similar to each other and contained two FAD-binding domains each followed by an adenylyl cyclase catalytic domain. The purified flavoprotein actually showed adenylyl cyclase activity, being drastically elevated by blue-light irradiation. Suppression of gene expression of the flavoprotein (Photoactivated Adenylyl Cyclase, PAC) by RNA interference (RNAi) caused loss of the step-up photophobic response, demonstrating that PAC actually mediates photoavoidance of Euglena.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• /
• v.49 no.1
• /
• pp.30-37
• /
• 2016

Microalgae are functional foods because they contain special anti-aging inhibitors and other functional components, such as ecosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. Many of these functional dietary components are absent in animals and terrestrial plants. Thus, microalgae are widely utilized in human functional foods and in the feed provided to farmed fish and terrestrial livestock. Many marine organisms consume microalgae, often because they are in an appropriate portion of the cell size spectrum, but also because of their nutritional content. The nutritional requirements of marine organisms differ from those of terrestrial animals. After hatching, marine animals need small live forage species that have high omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid contents, including EPA and DHA. Euglena cells have both plant and animal characteristics; they are motile, elliptical in shape, 15-500 μm in diameter, and have a valuable nutritional content. Mixotrophic cell cultivation provided the best growth rates and nutritional content. Diverse carbon (fructose, lactose, glucose, maltose and sucrose) and nitrogen (tryptone, peptone, yeast extract, urea and sodium glutamate) supported the growth of microalgae with high lipid contents. We found that the best carbon and nitrogen sources for the production of high quality Euglena cells were glucose (10 g L^–1) and sodium glutamate (1.0 g L^–1), respectively.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.34 no.3 s.95
• /
• pp.185-191
• /
• 2001

The morphological variation and density of the Euglena viridis cells and environmental factors of urban waterways of Daejoncheon , Jeonjucheon, Kwangjucheon, Kumhogang, Mihocheon,and Musimcheon, Korea were studied from 25December, 1995 to 5 January, 1997 in order toelucidate possible relationships among the bio-logical and abiological factors. All E. viridis cells were same in having single star-cluster of chlo-roplast lobes and included two morphotypes based on other detailed morphology. The morphotype I cells agreed well with the typical form off. viridrs and commonly occurred in most of waters and bloomed with $5386\;cells\;{\cdot}\;mL^{-1}$ in Kwangjucheon. The density of the morphotype Ipositively correlated with ammonium (r = 0.80)and nitrite (r = 0.68), while negatively with nit-rate concentration. The morphotype II cells were characterized by having randomly scattered cytoplasmic granules beneath pellicle and unevenmargined lobes of chloroplasts. The density of the morphotype II positively correlated with nitrate (r = 0.98), while negatively correlated with ammonium and nitrite. However, the density of each morphotype was not significantly related with inorganic phosphate, temperature and pH of surface water. These results indicate that E. viridis includes two morphotypes in urban waterways in Korea, that coexist in the same period and station as a response of allocation of nitrogenous nutrients.

• ALGAE
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.61-73
• /
• 2006

Sixty taxa of Euglenaceae belonging to 19 species of Euglena, 1 species of Colacium, 8 species of Lepocinclis, 22 species of Phacus and 10 species of Trachelomonas were reported from different habitats of Orissa state in the east cost of India. All the taxa were recorded for the first time from this region.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.15 no.5
• /
• pp.1047-1053
• /
• 2005

Cyclosporin A binding protein type-19 kDa peptidyl-prolyl cis/trans isomerase (PPIases, EC 5.2.1.8) of Euglena gracilis was purified and some of its biochemical characters were elucidated. Purification of the PPIase was achieved by employing a series of steps involving ammonium sulfate precipitation, Superdex G-75 gel filtration chromatography, Mono­Q anion and Mono-S cation exchange chromatographies, and Superdex S-200 gel filtration chromatography on FPLC. Purified PPIase had a specific activity of 8,250 units/mg, showing a 27-fold increase compared with that of cell-free extract of Euglena gracilis. The enzyme consisted of a single polypeptide chain with a molecular mass of 19 kDa. It showed high substrate specificity to succinyl-Ala-Ala-Pro-Phe-p-nitroanilide, and $k_{car}/K_{m}$, for this substrate was found to be $61.19{\times}10^5/sec$. The isomer distributions were investigated at an equilibrium of seven different peptide substrates, varying Xaa in Suc-Ala-Xaa-Pro-Phe-p-nitroanilide in dimethylsulfoxide. The cis/trans equilibrium constants were estimated to be from 0.14 (Ile) to 0.63 (Gly), which correspond to $12.00\%\;to\;38.52\%$ of the cis population, respectively, under experimental condition. The enzyme was highly sensitive to the immunosuppressive ligand cyclosporin A, but not to other immunosuppressants such as FK506 and rapamycin. Thus, it appears to belong to the class of cyclophilin.

• ALGAE
• /
• v.31 no.3
• /
• pp.219-230
• /
• 2016

The Euglena deses group are common freshwater species composed of E. adhaerens, E. carterae, E. deses, E. mutabilis, and E. satelles. These species are characterized by elongated cylindrical worm-like cell bodies and numerous discoid chloroplasts with a naked pyrenoid. To understand the cryptic diversity, species delimitation and phylogenetic relationships among members of the group, we analyzed morphological data (light and scanning electron microscopy) and molecular data (nuclear small subunit [SSU] and large subunit [LSU] rDNAs and plastid SSU and LSU rDNAs). Bayesian and maximum likelihood analyses based on the combined four-gene dataset resulted in a tree consisting of two major clades within the group. The first clade was composed of two subclades: the E. mutabilis subclade, and the E. satelles, E. carterae, and E. adhaerens subclade. The E. mutabilis subclade was characterized by a lateral canal opening at the anterior end and a single pellicular stria, whereas the E. satelles, E. carterae, and E. adhaerens subclade was characterized by an apical canal opening at the anterior end of the cell and double pellicular striae. The second clade consisted of 20 strains of E. deses, characterizing by a subapical canal opening at the anterior end and double pellicular striae, but they showed cell size variation and high genetic diversity. Species boundaries were tested using a Bayesian multi-locus species delimitation method, resulting in the recognition of five cryptic species within E. deses clade.