Isolation and Characterization of a new thermotolerant pigment- producing microalga: Salt stress enhances pigment and oil biosynthesis in Coelastrella sp.F50

• Main Authors: Che-Wei Hu, 胡哲瑋
• Other Authors: Ching-Nen Nathan Chen
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2012
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/97564499063736848604

碩士 === 國立中山大學 === 海洋生物研究所 === 100 === A new species of reddish-orange pigment-producing microalga was isolated from a shallow pond in tropical Taiwan. Morphological and molecular evidence including meridional ribs on the cell wall, pigment production, and 18S rDNA sequence analysis suggest that this microalga is a species in the genus Coelastrella. Salt stress accelerated biosynthesis of the reddish-orange pigments, and large quantity of oil accumulated as the cells stressed under nutrient deficiency. This microalga could sustain 45 °C for more than 8 hours indicated by the stability of its chlorophylls, which is a necessary trait for large scale outdoor cultivation using photobioreactors in tropical areas. The reddish-orange pigments could be separated into many fractions by HPLC, and signals from carotenoids were detected in a few fractions using NMR, suggesting these pigments may function as antioxidants among other roles.