Evaporation from culture ponds and raceways can subject algae to hypersalinity stress, and this is exacerbated by global warming. We investigated the effect of salinity on a marine microalga, Microchloropsis gaditana, which is of industrial significance because of its high lipid-accumulating capability. Both short-term (hours) and medium-term (days) effects of salinity were studied across various salinities (37.5, 55, 70 and 100 PSU). Salinity above 55 PSU suppressed cell growth and specific growth rate was significantly reduced at 100 PSU. Photosynthesis (F_v/F_m, rETR_max and I_k) was severely affected at high salinity conditions. Total carbohydrate per cell increased ∼1.7-fold after 24 h, which is consistent with previous findings that salinity induces osmolyte production to counter osmotic shock. In addition, accumulation of lipid increased by ∼4.6-fold in response to salinity. Our findings indicate a possible mechanism of acclimation to salinity, opening up new frontiers for osmolytes in pharmacological and cosmetics applications.

养殖池和水道的蒸发会使藻类遭受高盐度压力，全球变暖加剧了这种情况。我们研究了盐度对海洋微藻Microchloropsis gaditana的影响，这具有工业意义，因为它具有很高的脂质积累能力。研究了不同盐度（37.5、55、70和100 PSU）对盐度的短期（小时）和中期（天）影响。高于55 PSU的盐度抑制了细胞生长，在100 PSU时比生长速率显着降低。光合作用（F _v / F _m，rETR _max和I _k）在高盐度条件下受到严重影响。24小时后，每个细胞的总碳水化合物增加了约1.7倍，这与以前的发现一致，即盐分会诱导渗透液的产生以对抗渗透压。另外，响应盐度，脂质的积累增加了约4.6倍。我们的发现表明适应盐度的可能机制，为药理和化妆品应用中的渗透压剂开辟了新领域。