Isolation of high-lipid content strains of the marine microalga Tetraselmis suecica for biodiesel production by flow cytometry and single-cell sorting

Abstract

Biodiesel from algae is considered an alternative for a third generation of biofuels.However, most microalgae are not lipogenic during fast growth periods, but high lipid content occurs at resting stages. Microalgae biomass production for biodiesel needs continuous high volumetric and aerial yields and large amount of neutral lipid in the biomass. These requirements are similar to demanding a marathon runner to be obese. We show that by using cell--sorting capabilities of flow cytometers, in combination with the lipid--soluble fluorescent dye Nile Red, we can isolate and select cells with a high and stable lipid content. In our study we were able to select through three sorting events obtained from wild populations of Tetraselmis suecica

Quantification of the Sub-lethal Toxicity of Metals and Endocrine-disrupting Chemicals to the Marine Green Microalga Tetraselmis suecica

“…It has a high growth rate, and it has been used commercially as an aquaculture feed and as a nutritional supplement (Brown, 2002). In addition, T. suecica is considered a potential candidate for biodiesel production (Montero et al, 2011). Thus determining its potential as a model for toxicity assays could be advantageous.…”

Aplicações Ambientais De Microalgas

“…A produção de biocombustíveis a partir de microalgas baseia-se primeiramente na produção de biomassa com elevadas produtividades. No caso do uso para a produção de biodiesel, necessita-se ainda que esta biomassa apresente elevados percentuais de lipídios, o que parece ser contraditório, visto que a maioria das espécies que apresentam elevadas produtividades em biomassa não são capazes de acumular lipídios (Montero et al, 2011). Entretanto, grandes avanços tem sido obtidos por pesquisadores no mundo todo através de cultivos em fotobiorreatores, capazes de aumentar a produtividade em biomassa (VARFOLOMEEV e WASSERMAN, 2011).…”

Concentration of Algal Cells for Raman Analysis by Electrowetting on Dielectrics (EWOD)

“…In order for successful commercialization of bio fuel, one of the important steps is to be able to quantify the lipid content inside the microalgae in a rapid fashion such that screening of lipid-rich algal strains in a timely manner, optimization of the cultivation conditions and on-site monitoring of the cultivation process become feasible. For conventional techniques used to quantify the microalgae cellular lipids such as gas chromatography (GC) analysis and gram measurement [3][4][5], they are typically invasive, time-consuming, and involved in expensive instrument and well-trained personnel. The lipidconjugated fluorescent dye such as Nile red and BODIPY 505/515 was used to quantify the lipid content through fluorescence intensity analysis and similar results can be achieved compared to those from conventional techniques [6][7][8].…”