Publication: Increasing the triacylglycerol content in dunaliella tertiolecta through isolation of starch-deficient mutants
Issued Date
2016-05-01
Resource Type
ISSN
17388872
10177825
10177825
Other identifier(s)
2-s2.0-84969812971
Rights
Mahidol University
Rights Holder(s)
SCOPUS
Bibliographic Citation
Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology. Vol.26, No.5 (2016), 854-866
Suggested Citation
Anchalee Sirikhachornkit, Supachai Vuttipongchaikij, Anongpat Suttangkakul, Kittisak Yokthongwattana, Piyada Juntawong, Prayad Pokethitiyook, Kunn Kangvansaichol, Metha Meetam Increasing the triacylglycerol content in dunaliella tertiolecta through isolation of starch-deficient mutants. Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology. Vol.26, No.5 (2016), 854-866. doi:10.4014/jmb.1510.10022 Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/20.500.14594/43046
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Authors
Journal Issue
Thesis
Title
Increasing the triacylglycerol content in dunaliella tertiolecta through isolation of starch-deficient mutants
Other Contributor(s)
Abstract
© 2016 by The Korean Society for Microbiology and Biotechnology. The production cost of biodiesel from microalgae is still not competitive, compared with that of petroleum fuels. The genetic improvement of microalgal strains to increase triacylglycerol (TAG) accumulation is one way to reduce production costs. One of the most promising approaches is the isolation of starch-deficient mutants, which have been reported to successfully increase TAG yields. To date, such a stable mutant is not available in an oleaginous marine microalga, despite several advantages of using marine species for biodiesel production. Algae in the genus Dunaliella are known to tolerate high salt concentration and other environmental stresses. In addition, the cultivation processes for large-scale outdoor commercialization have been well established for this genus. In this study, Dunaliella tertiolecta was used to screen for starch-deficient mutants, using an iodine vapor-staining method. Four out of 20, 016 UV-mutagenized strains showed a substantial reduction of starch content. A significantly higher TAG content, up to 3-fold of the wild-type level, was observed in three of the mutants upon induction by nitrogen depletion. The carotenoid production and growth characteristics of these mutants, under both normal and oxidative stress conditions, were not compromised, suggesting that these processes are not necessarily affected by starch deficiency. The results from this work open up new possibilities for exploring Dunaliella for biodiesel production.