The Search for a Lipid Trigger: The Effect of Salt Stress on the Lipid Profile of the Model Microalgal Species Chlamydomonas reinhardtii for Biofuels Production
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: Algal cells produce neutral lipid when stressed and this can be used to generate biodiesel. OBJECTIVE: Salt stressed cells of the model microalgal species Chlamydomonas reinhardtii were tested for their suitability to produce lipid for biodiesel. METHODS: The starchless mutant of C. reinhardtii (CC-4325) was subjected to salt stress (0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 M NaCl) and transesterification and GC analysis were used to determine fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) content and profile. RESULTS: Fatty acid profile was found to vary under salt stress conditions, with a clear distinction between 0.1 M NaCl, which the algae could tolerate, and the higher levels of NaCl (0.2 and 0.3 M), which caused cell death. Lipid content was increased under salt conditions, either through long-term exposure to 0.1 M NaCl, or short-term exposure to 0.2 and 0.3 M NaCl. Palmitic acid (C16:0) and linolenic acid (C18:3n3) were found to increase significantly at the higher salinities. CONCLUSION: Salt increase can act as a lipid trigger for C. reinhardtii.
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The lipid content of C. reinhardtii, A. dimorphus, C. vulgaris, and Acutodesmus obliquus increases when exposed to concentrations exceeding 0.1 M NaCl.
“The lipid content of various microalgae species such as C. reinhardtii, A. dimorphus, C. vulgaris, and Acutodesmus obliquus has been found to increase when exposed to concentrations exceeding 0.1 M NaCl [66, 126–128].”
From Microalgae biofuels: illuminating the path to a sustainable future amidst challenges and opportunities (2024) · cites this paper as [126]
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References 35 · Cited by 46
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- Authors
- Hounslow, E., Kapoore, R., Vaidyanathan, S., Gilmour, D., & Wright, P.
- Affiliations
- University of Sheffield (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Hounslow, Emily
- Venue
- Current Biotechnology
- Publisher
- Bentham Science Publishers Ltd.
- Published
- 2016-11-07
- Volume
- 5
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 305-313
- ISSN
- 2211-5501 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC5361176
- OpenAlex
- W2320425253
- Cited by
- 46
- References
- 35
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 3
- FWCI
- 0.91
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Licence
- cc-by-nc
- Locations
- Current Biotechnology (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- White Rose Research Online (University of Leeds, The University of Sheffield, University of York) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Funders
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/E036252/1)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Energy › Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment › Algal biology and biofuel production
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Biochemistry › Lipid metabolism and biosynthesis
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Microbial Metabolic Engineering and Bioproduction
- Keywords
- salt stress, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, microalgae, lipid accumulation, biodiesel, fatty acid methyl esters, fatty acid composition, palmitic acid, linolenic acid, starchless mutant, NaCl tolerance, biofuel feedstock
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