Chlorella autotrophica

Chlorella autotrophica
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Protista
Division: Chlorophyta
Class: Trebouxiophyceae
Order: Chlorellales
Family: Chlorellaceae
Genus: Chlorella
Species: C. autotrophica
Binomial name
Chlorella autotrophica
Shihira & R.W.Krauss

Chlorella autotrophica, or Chlorella sp. (580), is a euryhaline, unicellular microalgae found in brackish waters first isolated in 1956 by Ralph A. Lewin.[1] The species is defined by its inability to use organic carbon as a food source, making the species an obligate autotroph.[2] It is sometimes considered a variety of Chlorella vulgaris.[3]

Uses

C. autotrophica has many uses. The species has been used as a feedstock for rearing bivalves and fry in aquaculture[4] and as source of the amino acid L-Proline.[5][6] German and Russian scientists investigated the possibility of using the species as a food source for astronauts and concluded that 100 grams of dry algae could be consumed daily without any adverse health affects.[7][8] The algal species is also a candidate feedstock for biodiesel production due to its ability to accumulate triglycerides under nitrogen limitation.[9]

References

  1. ↑ Lewin, Ralph (1956). "Extracellular polysaccharides of green algae". Canadian Journal of Microbiology 7 (2): 665–672. doi:10.1139/m56-079.
  2. ↑ Krauss, Robert W; Shihira, Ikurio (1965). Chlorella: Physiology and taxonomy of forty-one isolates. University of Maryland. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
  3. ↑ "Algaebase". Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  4. ↑ Ukeles, Ravenna. "A simple method for the mass culture of marine algae". ASLO Publications. Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  5. ↑ Leavitt, Richard I. "Process for the preparation of L-proline by cultivating algae". Google Patents. Ethyl Corporation. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  6. ↑ Hellebust, JA; Ahmad, I (1984). "Nitrogen Metabolism of the Marine Microalga Chlorella autotrophica". Plant Physiology 76 (3): 658–663. PMID 16663902.
  7. ↑ Kondratiev, Y; Bychkov, V; Ushakov, A; Boiko, N; Klyushkina, N; Abaturova, E; Terpilovsky, A; Korneeva, N; Belyakova, M; Kasatkina, A (1966). "The use of 50 and 100 g of dry biological foodstuff containing unicellular algae in food rations of man". Voprosy Pitanya 25 (6): 9–14. PMID 6002339.
  8. ↑ Müller-Wecker, Hildegard; Kofrányi, Ernst (1973). "Zur Bestimmung der biologischen Wertigkeit von Nahrungsproteinen, XVIII. Einzeller als zusätzliche Nahrungsquelle". Hoppe-Seyler´s Zeitschrift für physiologische Chemie 354 (2): 1034–1042. doi:10.1515/bchm2.1973.354.2.1034.
  9. ↑ Agwa, O; Ibe, S; Abu, G. (2012). "Economically effective potential of Chlorella sp. for biomass and lipid production". Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology Research 2 (1): 35–45. Retrieved 28 June 2014.