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Single-cell protein production potential with the extremophilic red microalgae Galdieria sulphuraria: growth and biochemical characterization

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Abstract

New food sources are urgently needed due to population growth. The production of microalgae biomass with high protein content is particularly of interest. Galdieria sulphuraria is an extremophilic red microalgae that can grow in acidic environments (pH 0 to 4) and above 40 °C. The aim of this work was to study the photoautotrophic growth and the biochemical composition of five G. sulphuraria strains to potentially produce single-cell protein. A kinetic study of cell growth and macromolecule content was performed in batch mode under controlled conditions: 42 °C, pH 2, constant illumination at 100 μmol photons m−2 s−1, 150 rpm, 0.5 vvm, and atmospheric CO2 (0.04%). The G. sulphuraria CCMEE 5587.1 reached 2.33 g L−1 of dry cell weight (DCW) (~ 9 × 107 cells mL−1) in 20 days, i.e., a productivity of ~ 110 mgDCW L−1 day−1 was achieved. The biomass from this strain shows a high protein content (~ 44% w/wDCW), 42.7% of essential amino acids, 4.7% (w/wDCW) of phycocyanin, 5.9% (w/wDCW) total carbohydrates, and 14.1% (w/wDCW) total lipids. A productivity of 21 t ha−1 year−1 could be attained assuming a straightforward scale-up in open ponds and reaching half the protein productivities obtained in the laboratory. This biomass composition is suitable for food purposes.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Mario A. Caro-Bermudez, Juan Manuel Hurtado Ramírez, Roberto Pablo Rodríguez Bahena, and Leonardo Peña-Carranza for technical support. Algae strains were obtained from the University of Göttingen, Germany (SAG 107.79, SAG 108.79, and SAG 21.92); Algae Culture Collection of the University of Texas, USA (UTEX 2919); and the Microbial Collection of Extreme Environments of the University of Oregon, USA (CCMEE 5587.1). CAMH held a scholarship from CONACyT – Mexico (699699).

Funding

This work was supported by Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) – Dirección General de Asuntos del Personal Académico (DGAPA), Grant PAPIIT-DGAPA-UNAM IT201119.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Ingeniería Celular y Biocatálisis, Instituto de Biotecnología, Col. Chamilpa, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Av. Universidad 2001, 62210, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México

    Carlos A. Montenegro-Herrera, Francisco Vera-López Portillo, Georgina T. Hernández-Chávez & Alfredo Martinez

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  1. Carlos A. Montenegro-Herrera
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  2. Francisco Vera-López Portillo
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  3. Georgina T. Hernández-Chávez
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  4. Alfredo Martinez
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Contributions

CAM-H and AM, conception and design of the study and manuscript drafting and editing. CAM-H, cultivation of microalgae, biochemical composition analyses, and data analysis. AM, project administration and funding acquisition. All the authors (CAM-H, FV-LP, GTH-C, and AM) participated in data analyses, discussion of results, and writing and revising the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Alfredo Martinez.

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Montenegro-Herrera, C.A., Vera-López Portillo, F., Hernández-Chávez, G.T. et al. Single-cell protein production potential with the extremophilic red microalgae Galdieria sulphuraria: growth and biochemical characterization. J Appl Phycol 34, 1341–1352 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-022-02733-y

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