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Cell disruption of Chlorella vulgaris using active extracellular substances from Bacillus thuringiensis ITRI-G1 is a programmed cell death event

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Abstract

Microalgae are rich resources for high-value nutrients and biodiesel production. However, extraction of these valuable compounds from them requires costly energy-consuming procedures due to their rigid cell walls. Application of cell-disruptive agents, the AES-Bt agents, extracted from an algicidal bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis ITRI-G1, are a promising way to reduce the cost of cell disruption. Treatment with AES-Bt agents resulted in a rapid decline of photosynthesis ability and caused cell death in Chlorella vulgaris. Hallmarks of programmed cell death (PCD), including chromatin condensation, DNA fragmentation, and phosphatidylserine externalization, were detected in C. vulgaris cells treated with the AES-Bt agents. Therefore, the cell disruption effect caused by application of the AES-Bt agents can be due to the occurrence of PCD. Similar to other PCDs, the PCD caused by AES-Bt agents was also associated with increased reactive oxygen species (ROS). However, co-treatments with diphenyleneiodonium chloride (DPI), an NAD(P)H oxidase inhibitor, or N,N′-dimethylthiourea (DMTU), a hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) trap, with the AES-Bt agents successfully reduced ROS production, and more cells displayed a feature of PCD detected after the co-treatments. In conclusion, the AES-Bt agents can promote PCD of microalgae; however, the mechanism may not be through induction of ROS.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to express our appreciation to the editor, Dr. Michael A. Borowitzka, and reviewers for their excellent comments on the manuscript. We appreciate Professor Jo-Shu Chang, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan, for providing us the culture of C. vulgaris. We also would like to thank Professor Tse-Min Lee, National Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan, for providing information on microalgal culture. This work was supported by the Bureau of Energy, Ministry of Economic Affairs, ROC, Ministry of Science and Technology, ROC (102-2313-B-002-067-MY3) and Academia Sinica, Taiwan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Green Energy and Environmental Laboratories, Industrial Technology Research Institute, Hsinchu, Taiwan

    Ming-Der Bai, Shao-I Wu, Wen-Chang Lu & Hou-Peng Wan

  2. Institute of Biotechnology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan

    Hui-Ju Hsu & Jen-Chih Chen

  3. Agricultural Biotechnology Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan

    Jen-Chih Chen

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  1. Ming-Der Bai
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  2. Hui-Ju Hsu
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Correspondence to Jen-Chih Chen.

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Ming-Der Bai and Hui-Ju Hsu contributed equally to this work.

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Bai, MD., Hsu, HJ., Wu, SI. et al. Cell disruption of Chlorella vulgaris using active extracellular substances from Bacillus thuringiensis ITRI-G1 is a programmed cell death event. J Appl Phycol 29, 1307–1315 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-017-1058-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-017-1058-x

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