Versatile biotechnological applications of Euglena gracilis

The Influence of Phenol on the Growth, Morphology and Cell Division of Euglena gracilis

“…E. gracilis has many biotechnological implications for the production of pharmaceuticals, dietary supplements, biomaterials and biofuels [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]. It is a natural source of bioproducts such as dietary proteins containing all essential amino acids, wax esters (a feedstock for biofuels), polyunsaturated fatty acids and its storage polysaccharide paramylon (a β-1,3-glucan) with immunostimulatory properties and broad applications in medicine [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 14 ].…”

“…E. gracilis has many biotechnological implications for the production of pharmaceuticals, dietary supplements, biomaterials and biofuels [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]. It is a natural source of bioproducts such as dietary proteins containing all essential amino acids, wax esters (a feedstock for biofuels), polyunsaturated fatty acids and its storage polysaccharide paramylon (a β-1,3-glucan) with immunostimulatory properties and broad applications in medicine [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 14 ]. Although E. gracilis can also produce large amounts of provitamin A (β-carotene) and vitamins C (ascorbate) and E (α-tocopherol), it is not able to synthesize thiamine (vitamin B 1 ) and cobalamin (vitamin B 12 ) and, therefore, these two vitamins must be added to media for the growth of its axenic cultures.…”

“…The high price of these vitamins is the highest limitation factor for obtaining high yields of E. gracilis biomass for biotechnological purposes. On the other hand, no addition of vitamins is required when E. gracilis is grown in co-culture with the bacteria Pseudobacillus badius and Lysinibacillus boronitolerans and with the micromycete Cladosporium westerdijkiae , suggesting that these microorganisms can produce sufficient amounts of vitamins B 1 and B 12 for this flagellate [ 13 , 14 ]. Many E. gracilis cells in this co-culture are attached to the fungal hyphae by flagella, suggesting that such bioflocculation offers the possibility for effective harvesting of E. gracilis biomass simply using nets [ 13 , 14 ].…”

“…E. gracilis is also a suitable model microorganism for monitoring the biological effects of various environmental pollutants and ecotoxicological risk assessment, as well as for bioremediation of polluted water [ 14 ]. It has been used to test the biological effect of heavy metals such as cadmium, copper, chromium [ 15 , 16 ] and nickel [ 17 ] as well as monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (arenes) such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes and their mixture—BTEX [ 18 , 19 ].…”