Increase of the yields of eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids by the microalga Pavlova lutheri following random mutagenesis

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2003

Authors

Meireles, LA (Author) Other; Catarina Guedes, AC (Author) Other; F. Xavier Malcata (Author) Other

Journal

Title: Biotechnology and Bioengineering

Vol. 81

Pages: 50-55

ISSN: 0006-3592

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 32 Citations

Scopus - 47 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-000-J2B

DOI: 10.1002/bit.10451

Abstract (EN): The high commercial values of eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA) acids have driven a strain-improvement program, aimed at increasing the content of those fatty acids in the microalga Pavlova lutheri (SMBA 60) as parent strain. After a round of mutation using UV-light as mutagenic agent, an isolate strain (tentatively called II#2) was obtained, the EPA and DHA contents of which (in % dry biomass) were 32.8% and 32.9% higher than those of the control, native strain. The final EPA yields, when the cultures were maintained under appropriate conditions, were 17.4 and 23.1 mg.g(-1) dry biomass, for the wild-type and the II#2 strain, respectively, whereas the final DHA yields were 8.0 and 10.6 mg.g(-1) dry biomass, respectively. These results suggest that random mutagenesis can successfully be applied to increase the yield of n-3 fatty acids by microalgae. (C) 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 6