• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.55 no.1
• /
• pp.74-79
• /
• 2017

In this study, the optimization of several factors for Chlorella saccharophila cultivation was investigated. The studied factors were medium type, culture type, inoculum size, sugar/nitrogen source type and concentrations. As a result, the optimized conditions for C. saccharophila cultivation were found to be the best at 3% (v/v) inoculum, 30 g/L glucose and 0.95 g/L $NaNO_3$ under mixotrophic culture. Under the optimized condition, the content of oil was high at 12 day, whereas, the amount of biomass and chlorophyll were high at 10 day.

• 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.

• ALGAE
• /
• v.35 no.3
• /
• pp.277-292
• /
• 2020

Omega-3 fatty acids, including eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), are polyunsaturated fatty acids beneficial to human health. A limited number of microalgae have been used for commercial omega-3 production, which necessitates the identification of new microalgae with high omega-3 contents. We explored the fatty acid composition and EPA and DHA contents of the mixotrophic dinoflagellate Gymnodinium smaydae fed with the optimal algal prey species Heterocapsa rotundata. Cells of G. smaydae were found to be rich in omega-3 fatty acids. In particular, the DHA content of G. smaydae was 21 mg g^-1 dry weight, accounting for 43% of the total fatty acid content. The percentage of DHA in the total fatty acid content of G. smaydae was the highest among the reported microalgae except for Crypthecodinium cohnii. Moreover, to determine if the prey supply interval affected the growth rate of G. smaydae and its fatty acid content, three different prey supply intervals (daily, once every 2 d, and once for 4 d) were tested. Daily prey supply yielded the highest total fatty acid and DHA contents in G. smaydae. Furthermore, we successfully produced high-density G. smaydae cultures semi-continuously for 43 d with daily prey supply. During the semi-continuous cultivation period, the highest density of G. smaydae was 57,000 cells mL^-1, with an average growth rate of 0.7 d^-1. Taken together, the percentage of EPA and DHA in the total fatty acid content was maintained in the range of 54.2-56.9%. The results of this study support G. smaydae as a promising microalgal candidate for commercial DHA production and demonstrate that daily supply of prey can efficiently produce high-density G. smaydae cultures for more than a month.

• ALGAE
• /
• v.28 no.2
• /
• pp.131-147
• /
• 2013

Major progress has been made in the past decade towards understanding of the biosynthesis of red carotenoid astaxanthin and its roles in stress response while exploiting microalgae-based astaxanthin as a potent antioxidant for human health and as a coloring agent for aquaculture applications. In this review, astaxanthin-producing green microalgae are briefly summarized with Haematococcus pluvialis and Chlorella zofingiensis recognized to be the most popular astaxanthin-producers. Two distinct pathways for astaxanthin synthesis along with associated cellular, physiological, and biochemical changes are elucidated using H. pluvialis and C. zofingiensis as the model systems. Interactions between astaxanthin biosynthesis and photosynthesis, fatty acid biosynthesis and enzymatic defense systems are described in the context of multiple lines of defense mechanisms working in concert against photooxidative stress. Major pros and cons of mass cultivation of H. pluvialis and C. zofingiensis in phototrophic, heterotrophic, and mixotrophic culture modes are analyzed. Recent progress in genetic engineering of plants and microalgae for astaxanthin production is presented. Future advancement in microalgal astaxanthin research will depend largely on genome sequencing of H. pluvialis and C. zofingiensis and genetic toolbox development. Continuous effort along the heterotrophic-phototrophic culture mode could lead to major expansion of the microalgal astaxanthin industry.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.21 no.10
• /
• pp.1073-1080
• /
• 2011

In order to investigate and generalize the effects of carbon and nitrogen sources on the growth of and lipid production in Chlorella sp. 227, several nutritional combinations consisting of different carbon and nitrogen sources and concentrations were given to the media for cultivation of Chlorella sp. 227, respectively. The growth rate and lipid content were affected largely by concentration rather than by sources. The maximum specific growth was negatively affected by low concentrations of carbon and nitrogen. There is a maximum allowable inorganic carbon concentration (less than 500~1,000 mM bicarbonate) in autotrophic culture, but the maximum lipid content per gram dry cell weight (g DCW) was little affected by the concentration of inorganic carbon within the concentration. The lipid content per g DCW was increased when the microalga was cultured with the addition of glucose and bicarbonate (mixotrophic) at a fixed nitrogen concentration and with the lowest nitrogen concentration (0.2 mM), relatively. Considering that lipid contents per g DCW increased in those conditions, it suggests that a high ratio of carbon to nitrogen in culture media promotes lipid accumulation in the cells. Interestingly, a significant increase of the oleic acid amount to total fatty acids was observed in those conditions. These results showed the possibility to induce lipid production of high quality and content per g DCW by modifying the cultivation conditions.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
• /
• v.39 no.6
• /
• pp.332-338
• /
• 2017

The purpose of this study was to determine optimum value of aeration, acetate dosage, and $CO_2$ input for the cultivation of Scenedesmus acuminatus. Highest specific growth rate and maximum biomass productivity was obtained by the aeration of 0.72 vvm and lower specific growth rates and maximum biomass productivity were obtained for other aeration tests. When putting 0.3 M of ammonium acetate in JM medium, the highest specific growth rate and maximum biomass productivity were obtained. $CO_2$ input tests were performed during semi-continuous culturing tests. The highest specific growth rate ($0.460d^{-1}$) and maximum biomass productivity ($0.936gL^{-1}d^{-1}$) were obtained after replacing 50% of solution with 0.3 M of acetate solution for $CO_2$ input tests. However, more dilutions after the first dilution resulted in lower specific growth rate and maximum biomass productivity. In aeration tests, the highest specific growth rate ($0.381d^{-1}$) and maximum biomass productivity ($0.253gL^{-1}d^{-1}$) were obtained when cultivating it with JM medium, but the specific growth rate and maximum biomass producitivty were significantly decreased when 50% of solution was replaced by acetate containing solution.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
• /
• v.41 no.1
• /
• pp.67-73
• /
• 2005

Photoautotrophic bacteria are promising candidates for the production of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) since they can address the critical problem of substrate costs. In this study, we isolated 25 Tn5-inserted mutants of the Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 which showed enhanced PHB accumulation compared to the wild-type strain. After 5-days cultivation under nitrogen-limited mixotrophic conditions, the intracellular levels of PHB content in these mutants reached up to $10-30\%$ of dry cell weight (DCW) comparable to $4\%$ of DCW in the wild-type strain. Using the method of inverse PCR, the affected genes of the mutants were mapped on the completely known genome sequence of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. As a result, the increased PHB accumulation in 5 mutants were found to be resulted from defects of genes coding for NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase, O-succinylbenzoic-CoA ligase, photosystem II PsbT protein or histidine kinase, which are involved in photosystem in thylakoid inner membrane of the cell. The values of $NAD(P)H/NAD(P)^+$ ratio in the cells of these mutants were much higher than that of the wild-type strain as measured by using pulse-amplitude modulated fluorometer, suggesting that PHB synthesis could be enhanced by increasing the level of cellular NAD(P)H which is a limiting substrate for NADPH-dependent acetoacetyl-CoA reductase. From these results, it is likely that NAD(P)H would be a limiting factor for PHB synthesis in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803.