Physiological and ecological aspects of Chlorella sorokiniana (Trebouxiophyceae) under photoautotrophic and mixotrophic conditions
Abstract
Mixotrophy is a metabolic strategy in which an organism is autotrophic and heterotrophic simultaneously. Considering that the aquatic environment provides several organic sources of carbon, it is probably common for microalgae to perform mixotrophy and not only photoautotrophy, but little is known about microalgae mixotrophy. The present work aimed at investigating the growth, photosynthetic activity, morphology, and biochemical composition of the microalga Chlorella sorokiniana in mixotrophic and photo-mixotrophic conditions, comparing it with photoautotrophy. The results showed pH changes after glucose addition, reaching pH 11.62 in mixotrophic and 10.47 in sequential photo-mixotrophic cultures, which limited the microalgal growth. Highest biomass was obtained in the mixotrophic culture in comparison with the sequential photo-mixotrophic one. Rapid light saturation curves showed that α (photosynthetic efficiency, 1.69) and relative electron transport rate (rETR; 565.61) were higher in the mixotrophic cultures, whereas the highest I k (irradiance saturation, 386.68) was obtained in the photoautotrophic ones. In the sequential photo-mixotrophic cultures, photosynthetic activity varied during glucose consumption, decreasing the maximum quantum yield F v/F m after glucose addition, indicating change in metabolism, from photoautotrophy to mixotrophy by the microalga. The results showed that the mixotrophic cultures had higher production of chlorophyll a (6.26 mg mL-1), cell density (6.62 × 10 7 cell mL-1), and lipids (0.06 pg μm-3). Sequential photo-mixotrophic cultures showed the highest biovolume (360.5 μm 3 cell-1) and total carbohydrates (0.026 pg μm-3). The protein concentration was 3.2 and 2.4 times higher in photoautotrophy and photo-mixotrophic growth, respectively, than in mixotrophy, but lipids were three times higher under mixotrophy. The biochemical changes we observed indicate that the microalga's plasticity in face of new environmental characteristics, such as the presence of organic carbon, can change the flow of energy through natural ecosystems.
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At the end of the experiment, no differences in cell densities among the three cultures were observed.
“At the end of the experiment, no differences in cell densities among the three cultures were observed.”
From Challenges and Opportunities to Increase Economic Feasibility and Sustainability of Mixotrophic Cultivation of Green Microalgae of the Genus Chlorella (2022) · cites this paper as [106]
Sequential photo-mixotrophic cultures of C. sorokiniana showed the highest total carbohydrate concentration (0.026 pg μm−3) compared with mixotrophic (0.009 pg μm−3) and photoautotrophic cultures (0.007 pg μm−3) after 5 days.
“It was found that the sequential photo-mixotrophic cultures showed the highest total carbohydrate concentration (0.026 pg μm -3 ) when compared to the mixotrophic (0.009 pg μm -3 ) and photoautotrophic cultures (0.007 pg μm -3 ) after 5 days.”
From Challenges and Opportunities to Increase Economic Feasibility and Sustainability of Mixotrophic Cultivation of Green Microalgae of the Genus Chlorella (2022) · cites this paper as [106]
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Self-citation
- Authors
- Marchello, A. E., dos Santos, A. C., Lombardi, A. T., de Souza, C. W. O., & Montanhim, G. C.
- Affiliations
- Universidade Federal de São Carlos (BR)
- Corresponding author
- Marchello, Adriano Evandir
- Venue
- Microbial Ecology
- Published
- 2018-03-08
- Volume
- 76
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 791-800
- ISSN
- 0095-3628 (ISSN-L)
- 1432-184X
- OpenAlex
- W2790173529
- Cited by
- 27
- References
- 70
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 1 · 2018: 1
- FWCI
- 0.35
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Microbial Ecology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (2014/15894-0)
- Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (302175/2015-6)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Energy › Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment › Algal biology and biofuel production
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Aquatic Ecosystems and Phytoplankton Dynamics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Oceanography › Marine and coastal ecosystems
- Keywords
- Chlorella sorokiniana, mixotrophy, photoautotrophy, microalgae growth, photosynthetic activity, chlorophyll a, lipid accumulation, protein accumulation, cell morphology, pH change, glucose supplementation, metabolic plasticity
- MeSH terms
- Chlorophyll A, Chlorella, Chlorophyll, Glucose, Light, Nitrogen, Photosynthesis, Biomass, Autotrophic Processes, Heterotrophic Processes, Microalgae
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