Journal
JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
Volume 8, Issue 11, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/jmse8110935
Keywords
Chlorella vulgaris; cold-tolerant; PUFAs (polyunsaturated fatty acids); calorific value
Categories
Funding
- Kyungpook National University Development Project Research Fund, 2018
- National Research Foundation of Korea [4199990314528] Funding Source: Korea Institute of Science & Technology Information (KISTI), National Science & Technology Information Service (NTIS)
Ask authors/readers for more resources
A cold-tolerant unicellular green alga was isolated from a meltwater stream on King George Island, Antarctica. Morphological, molecular, and biochemical analyses revealed that the isolate belonged to the species Chlorella vulgaris. We tentatively named this algal strain C. vulgaris KNUA007 and investigated its growth and lipid composition. We found that the strain was able to thrive in a wide range of temperatures, from 5 to 30 degrees C; however, it did not survive at 35 degrees C. Ultimate analysis confirmed high gross calorific values only at low temperatures (10 degrees C), with comparable values to land plants for biomass fuel. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis revealed that the isolate was rich in nutritionally important polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). The major fatty acid components were hexadecatrienoic acid (C16:3 omega 3, 17.31%), linoleic acid (C18:2 omega 6, 8.52%), and alpha-linolenic acid (C18:3 omega 3, 43.35%) at 10 degrees C. The microalga was tolerant to low temperatures, making it an attractive candidate for the production of biochemicals under cold weather conditions. Therefore, this Antarctic microalga may have potential as an alternative to fish and/or plant oils as a source of omega-3 PUFA. The temperature tolerance and composition of C. vulgaris KNUA007 also make the isolate desirable for commercial applications in the pharmaceutical industry.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available