The Arctic sea ice algae Chlamydomonas species: Growth and lipid contents at low temperature

Abstract

Biodiesel produced from algae shows great potential as green alternative energy. In winter season, however, outdoor mass cultivation for biodiesel production has a problem presenting poor growth rate. The Arctic Chlamydomonas species, ArF0032 was isolated from sea ice near the Dasan Station located in Ny-Alesund, Spitsbergen, Norway (78° 50′ N, 11° 56′ E). ArF0032 was revealed to have optimal growth temperature of 4℃ and the maximal cell density of 1.7×107 cells/ml at 4℃ (Fig. 1). The formation of lipid body of ArF0032 was visualized by Nile red staining method and exhibited yellow-gold at 488 nm fluorescence. The ArF0032's fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) was analyzed using gas chromatography. The ArF0032 showed fatty acid contents, which were dominated by palmitic acid methyl ester (C16:0), 5,8,11-heptadecatrienoic acid methyl ester (C17:3), oleic acid methyl ester (C18:1), linoleic acid methyl ester (C18:2) and α-linolenic acid methyl ester (C18:3). The ArF0032 presented maximum percentage (20%) of oleic acid and the content of unsaturated fatty acids (72.1%) was higher than that of saturated fatty acid (9%). The Arctic ArF0032 could grow at low temperature and produce fatty acids (C16:0 and C18:1) as desirable biodiesel. Thus, result of this study suggest that Arctic Chlamydomonas ArF0032 may be a source for biodiesel production