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Enhanced lipid production and essential ω-fatty acids synthesis by the hypersaline biodiesel-promising microalga Tetraselmis elliptica through growth medium optimization

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Abstract

This study aimed to optimize growth medium composition for enhanced lipid and fatty acid production by the green halophilic chlorophyte Tetraselmis elliptica. The impact of different ratios of natural seawater, nitrogen source/concentration, carbon source/concentration, and trace metals on the growth, biomolecules, lipid accumulation, and lipid productivity was studied. In addition, fatty acid profile of the optimized growth medium was compared with that of the typical medium as a control, and biodiesel production as well as essential polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) were evaluated. Among all studied factors, 0.1 g L−1 KNO3, 0.01 g L−1 glycerol, and 7.0 mg L−1 FeSO4·7H2O significantly enhanced the lipid productivity of T. elliptica, and were used further to evaluate the impact of their combination. Cultivation of T. elliptica in the optimized medium showed enhancement of growth up to 16 days, which resulted in 30.9% and 17% increase in biomass and lipid productivities, respectively. Moreover, optimization of growth medium enhanced PUFAs proportion to 15.05% due to de novo synthesis of arachidonic acid and docosahexaenoic acids which represented 4.17% and 10.88%, respectively, of total fatty acids. Biodiesel characteristics of the optimized medium showed compliance of all studied parameters with the US standards. The present study provides new insights for commercial utilization of marine microalgae cultivated in optimized growth medium for dual purpose of ω-fatty acids and biodiesel production through biorefinery approach.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Egyptian Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research and National Natural Science Foundation of China for funding the present work.

Funding

This work was funded by the Egyptian Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research and National Natural Science Foundation of China (52050410328).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, NIOF, Cairo, Egypt

    Rasha Saad Marey, Hanan M. Khairy & Ahmed M. Abd El-Moneim

  2. Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt

    Atef M. Abo-Shady

  3. Department of Environmental Engineering, School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Chengdu University, Chengdu, 610106, China

    Abdelfatah Abomohra

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Contributions

R. S. Marey: conceptualization, data curation, formal analysis, investigation, methodology, visualization, writing—original draft. A. M. Abo-Shady: conceptualization, methodology, writing—review and editing, funding acquisition. H. M. Khairy: formal analysis, writing − review and editing. A. M. Abd El-Moneim: formal analysis, methodology. Abdelfatah Abomohra: conceptualization, data validation, writing—review and editing, funding acquisition.

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Marey, R.S., Abo-Shady, A.M., Khairy, H.M. et al. Enhanced lipid production and essential ω-fatty acids synthesis by the hypersaline biodiesel-promising microalga Tetraselmis elliptica through growth medium optimization. Biomass Conv. Bioref. (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-022-03290-7

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