A chemical approach to manipulate the algal growth, lipid content and high-value alpha-linolenic acid for biodiesel production
2017
Parsaeimehr, Ali | Mancera-Andrade, Elena I. | Robledo-Padilla, Felipe | Iqbal, Hafiz M.N. | Parra Saldivar, Roberto
Microalgal cultivation systems for energy production are not yet economically viable due to the low yield of lipids and biomass. In this study, we propose a chemical approach, using exogenous bioactive molecules for improving algal growth, lipid content and the production of high-value alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), using Chlorella protothecoides as a model. Based on our findings, among the cytokinin and auxin classes, Kinetin increased the biosynthesis of ALA by 26.5% at 1ppm concentration, and indole-3-butyric acid at 2ppm improved the biomass and lipid productivity up to 29.15±2.02gm−2day−1, and 6.69±0.56gm−2day−1, respectively. Methyl jasmonate as a stress-related phytohormone also showed a positive stimulatory effect on growth of C. protothecoides, and the biomass productivity was increased up to 25.26±1.48gm−2day−1 at the concentration of 5ppm (lipid content: 219.66±13.20mgg−1dw; lipid productivity: 5.61±0.25gm−2day−1; ALA: 0.81±0.16gm−2day−1). A difference in the composition of fatty acids, due to the type and concentrations of stress-related phytohormones was observed, and under the influence of stress-related phytohormones, the biosynthesis of saturated fatty acids increased, and polyunsaturated fatty acids decreased in C. protothecoides. Butylated hydroxyanisole, at a concentration of 0.05ppm, increased the ALA content by 60.5%. Our study shows that the proposed bioactive molecules could increase the biomass productivity of C. protothecoides at a lower cost compared to the use of acetate as a carbon source.
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