Pavlova lutheri is a high-level producer of phytosterols

Levels of Diatom Minor Sterols Respond to Changes in Temperature and Salinity

“…However, significant variations were observed for sterols constituting a minor portion of the total sterols (Figure 7). This suggests that less abundant sterols might be involved in mechanisms of response to osmotic shock, as it was previously reported for Pavlova lutheri [16]. The diatom sterols that were responsive to changes in salinity, such as 24-methylcholesta-5,24(24') -dien-3β-ol, campesterol and fucosterol are also intermediaries in the sterol biosynthetic pathways of the diatoms C. muelleri, P. tricornutum and T. pseudonana respectively (Jaramillo-Madrid et al, unpublished data).…”

“…To determine the tolerance of different levels of salinity on the growth of diatoms species, screening was carried out in 96-well plates. To adjust salinity of L1 medium different amounts of sodium chloride in artificial seawater were added: 0, 8,16,24,32,40,48 and 56 g L −1 . Other trace salts components remained the same.…”

“…In the diatoms Thalassiosira pseudonana, Phaeodactylum tricornutum and Chaetoceros muelleri, we found that changes in the relative contents of minor sterols accompanied shifts in temperature and salinity. This may be indicative of acquired adaptive traits in diatom metabolism.Environmental conditions such as salinity [16] and the availability of nutrients including nitrogen, phosphate and silicate appear to affect sterol production in some microalgae [17,18].Since sterols are involved in cellular processes that interact with environmental conditions, such as cellular signaling and membrane fluidity [2], the regulation of sterol content by diatom species might be sensitive to changes in the environment and growth conditions. It is not known whether the wide diversity of sterols compounds in diatoms respond to changes in temperature, as in plants, or whether they are involved in complex signaling functions such as cell death [19].…”

“…Environmental conditions such as salinity [16] and the availability of nutrients including nitrogen, phosphate and silicate appear to affect sterol production in some microalgae [17,18].…”

Emerging Technologies in Algal Biotechnology: Toward the Establishment of a Sustainable, Algae-Based Bioeconomy

“…Several algal species naturally produce equal or greater amounts of phytosterols than plants, which are usually in the range of 0.025-0.4% of plant dry biomass (Piironen et al, 2003). Therefore diatoms and other algal groups have the potential to be alternative, low-cost, and more sustainable source of phytosterols (Ahmed et al, 2015;Jaramillo-Madrid et al, 2019). For example, the model diatom P. tricornutum produces up to 0.32% d.w. of phytosterols and the haptophyte Pavlova lutheri can accumulate phytosterols up to 5.1% d.w (Ahmed et al, 2015).…”