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Activity of acetyl-CoA carboxylase is not directly linked to accumulation of lipids when Chlorella vulgaris is co-immobilised with Azospirillum brasilense in alginate under autotrophic and heterotrophic conditions

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Abstract

Activity of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACCase) and lipid accumulation were assayed in the microalga Chlorella vulgaris co-immobilised in alginate beads with Azospirillum brasilense, under autotrophic and heterotrophic growth conditions, with and without ammonium starvation. ACCase is a key enzyme in de novo fatty acid biosynthesis. Under the two growth conditions, co-immobilisation always enhanced the activity of ACCase and yielded a higher level of lipids when compared with immobilisation of the alga alone. The highest lipid content obtained under autotrophic conditions was with ammonium starvation. Cultivation under heterotrophic conditions without limitation of nitrogen, with or without the presence of bacteria, yielded a higher growth rate and accumulated more lipids than under autotrophic conditions. No correlation was found between total lipids and ACCase activity. Unusually, ammonium starvation significantly reduced lipid accumulation under heterotrophic conditions. Consequently, co-immobilisation, sufficient ammonium and heterotrophic growth conditions were the most significant parameters for lipid accumulation and ACCase activity in C. vulgaris where the two latter parameters are not directly linked.

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Acknowledgments

At CIBNOR, we thank Manuel Moreno for technical support, Ira Fogel for editorial improvements, Fernando Garcia-Carreño for free use of the HPLC, and Mariana Diaz- Tenorio of Instituto Tecnologico de Sonora, Cd. Obregon, Mexico, for help in enzymatic analysis. This study was supported by the Secretaria de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, (SEMARNAT contract 23510) and Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia of Mexico (CONACYT-Basic Science-2009, contracts 130656 and 164548). Time for writing was provided by The Bashan Foundation, USA. L.A.L. was mainly supported by a graduate fellowship (CONACYT #48487) and additional periodic grants from The Bashan Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Microbiology Group, Northwestern Center for Biological Research (CIBNOR), Av. Instituto Politécnico Nacional 195, Col. Playa Palo de Santa Rita Sur, La Paz, B.C.S., 23096, Mexico

    Luis A. Leyva, Yoav Bashan & Luz E. de-Bashan

  2. The Bashan Foundation, 3740 NW Harrison Blvd., Corvallis, OR, 97330, USA

    Yoav Bashan & Luz E. de-Bashan

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  1. Luis A. Leyva
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  2. Yoav Bashan
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  3. Luz E. de-Bashan
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Correspondence to Luz E. de-Bashan.

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This study is dedicated to the memory of the Italian microbiologist Prof. Franco Favilli (1933–2012) of the University of Florence, Italy, one of the pioneers of Azospirillum studies

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Leyva, L.A., Bashan, Y. & de-Bashan, L.E. Activity of acetyl-CoA carboxylase is not directly linked to accumulation of lipids when Chlorella vulgaris is co-immobilised with Azospirillum brasilense in alginate under autotrophic and heterotrophic conditions. Ann Microbiol 65, 339–349 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13213-014-0866-3

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