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Effect of phosphorus on lipid accumulation in freshwater microalga Chlorella sp.

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Abstract

Microalgae have already been investigated as a potential resource for biofuel in many reports. In this study, the effect of phosphorus concentration on lipid content was analyzed using the freshwater microalga Chlorella sp as a model. In addition, the carbohydrate and protein content were also analyzed in order to investigate the variations of biochemical composition under different phosphorus levels. Results showed that both lipid content and lipid productivity were increased under low phosphorus conditions. Furthermore, it was also found that lipid accumulation in cells decreased by supplementing the growth media with K2HPO4 in the late growth phase. The analysis of the total protein and the carbohydrate content showed that the former remained unaffected by external phosphorus variation; while the latter was directly correlated to phosphorus concentration. In summary, lipid accumulation had significant relationship with phosphorus concentration.

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Acknowledgments

This work is based on research supported by the National Programs for Science and Technology Development (2011BAD14B02).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Key Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China

    Kehong Liang, Qinghua Zhang, Ming Gu & Wei Cong

  2. Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Kehong Liang

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  1. Kehong Liang
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  2. Qinghua Zhang
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  3. Ming Gu
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  4. Wei Cong
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Correspondence to Wei Cong.

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Liang, K., Zhang, Q., Gu, M. et al. Effect of phosphorus on lipid accumulation in freshwater microalga Chlorella sp.. J Appl Phycol 25, 311–318 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-012-9865-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-012-9865-6

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