Genome Center researchers discover that hungry algae make different oils

In a paper published 15 Sep in PLOS ONE, Metabolomics Core director Professor Oliver Fiehn and colleagues describe how the single-celled algae Chlamydymonas reinhardtii modifies its lipid output in response to nutrient starvation. C. reinhardtii, a model organism for the production of algal biofuels, is known to make more oil when subjected to abiotic stress. This study, conducted in collaboration with researchers from Taishan Medical University, Tianjin University of Science & Technology and Genedata Inc. employed a ‘chip-based nanoelectrospray direct infusion into an ion trap mass spectrometer’ in order to quantify these changes when nitrogen or sulfur were reduced to suboptimal levels. One finding was that N-starved algae produced more unsaturated and fewer saturated lipids, which ‘suggests differential activities of lipid desaturases in C. reinhardtii under nitrogen stress which might yield more fluid and permeable membranes.’ As the degree of lipid saturation is a critical determinant for the physical and chemical properties of oil, the ability to manipulate this trait while keeping yields high could have many industrial applications. Link to paper in PLOS ONE: Lipidomic Analysis of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii under Nitrogen and Sulfur Deprivation