• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.526-534
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• 2019

Chlorella gloriosa (Chlorellaceae, Trebouxiophyceae) was isolated from seawater off the coast of the Dokdo Islands in Korea. An axenic culture was established using the streak-plate method on f/2 agar media supplemented with antibiotics, allowing identification of the isolate by morphological, molecular, and physiological analyses. The morphological characteristics observed by light and electron microscopy revealed typical morphologies of C. gloriosa species. The molecular phylogenetic inference drawn from the small-subunit 18S rRNA sequence verified that the microalgal strain belongs to C. gloriosa. Additionally, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis showed that the isolate was rich in nutritionally important omega-3 and -6 polyunsaturated fatty acids and high-performance liquid chromatography analysis revealed that the high-value antioxidants lutein and violaxanthin were biosynthesized as accessory pigments by this microalga, with arabinose, galactose, and glucose as the major monosaccharides. Therefore, in this study, a Korean marine C. gloriosa species was discovered, characterized, and described, and subsequently added to the national culture collection.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.238-246
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• 2015

A unicellular red microalga was isolated from environmental freshwater in Korea, and its morphological, molecular, and biochemical properties were characterized. Morphological analysis revealed that the isolate was a unicellular biflagellated green microalga that formed a non-motile, thick-walled palmelloid or red aplanospore. To determine the taxonomical position of the isolate, its 18S rRNA and rbcL genes were sequenced and phylogenetic analysis was performed. We found that the isolate was clustered together with other related Haematococcus strains showing differences in the rbcL gene. Therefore, the isolated microalga was classified into the genus Haematococcus, and finally designated Haematococcus sp. KORDI03. The microalga could be cultivated in various culture media under a broad range of pH and temperature conditions. Compositions of the microalgal cellular components were analyzed, and its protein, carbohydrate, and lipid compositions were estimated to be 21.1 ± 0.2%, 48.8 ± 1.8%, and 22.2 ± 0.9%, respectively. In addition, D-glucose and D-mannose were the dominant monosaccharides in the isolate, and its amino acids were composed mainly of aspartic acid, glutamic acid, alanine, and leucine. Moreover, several polyunsaturated fatty acids accounted for about 80% of the total fatty acids in Haematococcus sp. KORDI03, and the astaxanthin content in the red aplanospores was estimated to be 1.8% of the dry cell weight. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of an Haematococcus sp. isolated from Korea, which may be used for bioresource production in the microalgal industry.

• Proceedings of the Korean Environmental Sciences Society Conference
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• 2017.10a
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• pp.197-197
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• 2017

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.770-775
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• 2014

The green microalga of the genus Nannochloropsis (class Eustigmatophyceae) is a leading candidate for biofuel production due to its ability to accumulate high oil content (28.7% of cellular ash-free dry weight). We investigated the anti-inflammatory and anticancer activities of sterol-rich fraction from nannochloropsis oculata n-hexane (NOH) extract after saponification of the microalga. Among the fractions with n-hexane, chloroform and ethyl acetate, the n-hexane fraction showed the highest anti-inflammatory activity in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophage as well as anticancer activity against human leukemia HL-60 cells without the cytotoxity. And the sterol-rich fraction was obtained from the n-hexane fraction by open silica column under the gradient solvent condition with 100% hexane (1L), hexane : ethyl acetate (20 : 1, 10 : 1, 5 : 1, 1 : 1, v/v). Among the four fractions (NOH-1~4), especially NOH-1 contained the highest content of sterols. NOH1 showed the highest HL-60 (about 85%) and NO inhibitory activities at the concentration of $100{\mu}g/mL$. These results demonstrated that the sterol-rich fraction from N. oculata might be a useful candidate as anti-inflammatory and anticancer agents for anti-inflammatory and anticancer activity.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.187-194
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• 2013

Microalgae are sensitive indicators of environmental changes, and hence they are widely used in environmental risk assessments and for the development of discharge guidelines. Here we evaluated the toxicity of metals and endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) to the marine green microalga, Tetraselmis suecica. The toxicants investigated included the metals, Cu, Ni, and Pb; and the EDCs, bisphenol A (BPA), endosulfan (ES), and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB). The endpoints were variations in cell counts and chlorophyll a levels. T. suecica displayed a varied pattern of sensitivity to the toxicants. Based on the 72-h median effective concentration ($EC_{50}$), ES (0.045 mg/L) was most toxic to T. suecica, followed by PCB (3.96 mg/L) and Pb (9.62 mg/L). Interestingly, T. suecica was relatively tolerant to Cu (43.03 mg/L). The 72-h $EC_{50}$ values of Ni and BPA were approximately 16 mg/L. Our data suggest that this species may be relatively tolerant to most of the chemicals within their permissible limits in the environment.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2005

Cell growth of the marine microalga Tetraselmis suecica was regulated by the addition of seaweed extracts in its culture medium. Of 26 species of seaweed tested, water-soluble extracts from Monostroma nitidum and Pachymeniopsis elliptica and methanol-soluble extract from Sargassum confilsum enhanced the growth of T suecica cells. The water extract of M. nitidum was the most effective, producing up to a 2-fold increase in cell density with the addition of 1 mg/mL of extract to the culture medium. Cell size, gross biochemical composition, fatty acids, and digestion efficiency all differed marginally between cultures of T suecica grown with and without the M. nitidum extract.

• Journal of Marine Bioscience and Biotechnology
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.68-75
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• 2014

This study investigated the potential use of various organic carbon sources (glucose, glycerol and acetate) and different concentrations of $CO_2$ for culturing marine microalga Dunaliella tertiolecta. Cell growth and lipid production were monitored under heterotrophic, mixotrophic and photoautotrophic modes of cultivation. D. tertiolecta showed the ability to grow under mixotrophic (acetate and glucose), heterotrophic (glucose) and photoautotrophic condition under high $CO_2$ concentration (15%). With all the organic carbon sources (glucose, glycerol and acetate) tested in this study, 1~5% acetate enhanced cell growth rate and lipid content, while higher concentrations of acetate (10% and 15%) were inhibitory and resulted in cell death.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.1098-1102
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• 2016

A green microalga, Tetraselmis sp., was cultivated in the coastal seawater of Young-Heung Island using semi-permeable membrane photobioreactors (SPM-PBRs) in different seasons. The microalgae in the SPM-PBRs were able to grow on nutrients diffused into the PBRs from the surrounding seawater through SPMs. The biomass productivity varied depending on the ion permeabilities of the SPMs and environmental conditions, whereas the quality and quantity of fatty acids were constant. The temperature of seawater had a greater influence than solar radiation did on productivity of Tetraselmis sp. in SPM-PBRs. SPM-PBRs could provide technologies for concurrent algal biomass and fatty acids production, and eutrophication reduction in the ocean.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.25-29
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• 2012

Marine actinomycetes isolated from seaweed were screened for growth activation effects on the biodiesel-producing microalgae Dunaliella salina. Of the 98 actinomycetes studied, strain 288-11 isolated from the rhizosphere of Undaria pinnatifida showed potent growth activation. The strain was identified as Streptomyces anulatus based on 16S rDNA sequence analysis. The cell density increased up to 2.1-fold with the addition of 1 mg/mL of extract to the medium. To understand the effect of adding S. anulatus extract, the gross biochemical composition and fatty acids of D. salina were determined.

• ALGAE
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.245-259
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• 2017

We report on the culture growth and stress-induced secondary carotenogenesis in a biotechnologically promising but largely unexplored chlorophyte Coelastrella rubescens strain Vinatzer/Innsbruck V 195. Changes in the cell morphometry, biomass accumulation, its carotenoid and fatty acid profiles were followed in the cultures supplemented with either inorganic ($CO_2$) or organic (sodium acetate) carbon on the background of low-pH stress. Collectively, the results of the study characterize C. rubescens as a biotechnologically promising, potentially double-purpose organism. It produces several secondary keto-carotenoids with a considerable proportion of astaxanthin and canthaxanthin. At the same time, the cell lipid fatty acid profile of this microalga is suitable for obtaining a high-quality biodiesel complying with the strictest EN14214 European standard.