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Rapid estimation of lipid content in an Antarctic ice alga (Chlamydomonas sp.) using the lipophilic fluorescent dye BODIPY505/515

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Abstract

Chlamydomonas sp. ICE-L, isolated from Antarctic coastal marine environments, was selected as a high lipid producer, which may be useful for biodiesel production. The lipophilic fluorescent dye BODIPY505/515 was used to determine the algal lipid content. Lipid bodies stained with BODIPY505/515 have a characteristic green fluorescence, and their volumes were determined using the sphere volume formula. In this study, lipid accumulation by Chlamydomonas ICE-L was analyzed under different cultivation conditions (nitrogen deficiency and UV-B radiation). The results demonstrated that nitrogen deficiency and UV-B radiation could significantly promote the accumulation of lipid content per cell. The highest yields of total lipid content (reaching 84 μL L−1) were obtained in full Provasoli medium after 12 days of cultivation, but not in the nitrogen-deficient medium. The inoculum used in this experiment was obtained from the late-exponential growth phase. The main reason was that the cell numbers in nitrogen-deficient medium had not increased and total lipid contents were offset by the lower growth rate. Considering the high lipid content in Chlamydomonas sp. ICE-L, this alga might be a promising alternative species for production of microalgal oil for the production of renewable biodiesel in the future.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (40876102 and 40876107), Shandong Science and Technology plan project (2011GHY11528), National Natural Science Foundation of China (41176153), National special fund for transgenic project (2009ZX08009-019B), the Hi-Tech Research and Development Program (863) of China (2009AA10Z106), Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (2009ZRA02075), Qingdao Municipal Science and Technology plan project (09-2-5-8-hy, 10-4-1-13-hy), National Marine Public Welfare Research Project (200805069) and the National Science & Technology Pillar Program, (2008BAD95B11).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Marine Bioactive Substance, The First Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Qingdao, 266061, China

    Shanli Mou, Qiang Liang, Zhou Zheng & Jinlai Miao

  2. Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China

    Dong Xu, Naihao Ye, Xiaowen Zhang & Zhimeng Zhuang

  3. Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266042, China

    Chengwei Liang

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  1. Shanli Mou
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  2. Dong Xu
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  3. Naihao Ye
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  4. Xiaowen Zhang
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  5. Chengwei Liang
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  6. Qiang Liang
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  7. Zhou Zheng
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  8. Zhimeng Zhuang
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  9. Jinlai Miao
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Correspondence to Naihao Ye or Jinlai Miao.

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Mou, S., Xu, D., Ye, N. et al. Rapid estimation of lipid content in an Antarctic ice alga (Chlamydomonas sp.) using the lipophilic fluorescent dye BODIPY505/515. J Appl Phycol 24, 1169–1176 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-011-9746-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-011-9746-4

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