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Effects of light intensity and nitrogen starvation on growth, total fatty acids and arachidonic acid in the green microalga Parietochloris incisa

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Abstract

The effects of light and nitrogen deficiency on biomass, fatty acid content and composition were studied in Parietochloris incisa, the unicellular freshwater chlorophyte accumulating very high amounts of arachidonic-acid-rich triacylglycerols. P. incisa cultures grown on complete nutrient medium and under high light (400 μmol photons m− 2 s−1) showed the highest rate of growth in comparison to medium (200 μmol photons m−2 s−1) and low (35 μmol photons m−2 s−1) light intensity. Cultures grown under high light (on complete BG-11 medium) attained higher volumetric contents of total fatty acids and arachidonic acid due to greater increase in biomass. Nitrogen starvation brought about a strong increase in the arachidonic acid proportion of total fatty acids. Thus, adjustments to cultivation conditions could serve as an efficient tool for manipulation of yield and relative content of arachidonic acid in P. incisa. The significance of the changes in lipid metabolism for adaptation of P. incisa to high-light stress and nitrogen deficiency is also discussed.

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Abbreviations

AA:

Arachidonic acid

DW:

Dry weight

FA:

Fatty acids

PFD:

Photon Flux Density

TAG:

Triacylglycerols

TFA:

Total fatty acids

PUFA:

Polyunsaturated fatty acids

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported in part by fellowships from the BIDR to M.N.M. and A.E.S. M.N.M. and A.E.S. also acknowledge the financial support of the Russian Fund for Basic Research (Grant # 06-04-48883) and Russia President’s Grant Council (Ministry of Science of the Russian Federation).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology of Microorganisms, Faculty of Biology, Moscow State University, 119991, GSP-1, Moscow, Russia

    A. E. Solovchenko & M. N. Merzlyak

  2. Microalgal Biotechnology Laboratory, The Albert Katz Department of Dryland Biotechnologies, The Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede-Boker Campus, 84990, Sede-Boker, Israel

    I. Khozin-Goldberg, S. Didi-Cohen & Z. Cohen

Authors
  1. A. E. Solovchenko
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  2. I. Khozin-Goldberg
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  3. S. Didi-Cohen
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  4. Z. Cohen
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  5. M. N. Merzlyak
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Correspondence to A. E. Solovchenko.

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Solovchenko, A.E., Khozin-Goldberg, I., Didi-Cohen, S. et al. Effects of light intensity and nitrogen starvation on growth, total fatty acids and arachidonic acid in the green microalga Parietochloris incisa . J Appl Phycol 20, 245–251 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-007-9233-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-007-9233-0

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