The metabolic plasticity of shikimate and phenylpropanoid pathways redirects carbon flow to different sink products in order to protect sessile plants from environmental stresses. This study assessed the biochemical responses of two Azolla species, A. filiculoides and A. pinnata, to the combined effects of environmental and nutritional stresses experienced while growing outdoors under Australian summer conditions. These stresses triggered a more than 2-fold increase in the production of total phenols and their representatives, anthocyanins (up to 18-fold), flavonoids (up to 4.7-fold), and condensed tannins (up to 2.7-fold), which led to intense red coloration of the leaves. These changes were also associated with an increase in the concentration of carbohydrates and a decrease in concentrations of lipids and total proteins. Changes in lipid biosynthesis did not cause significant changes in concentrations of palmitoleic acid (C16:0), linolenic acid (C18:3), and linoleic acid (C18:2), the fatty acid signatures of Azolla species. However, a reduction in protein production triggered changes in biosynthesis of alanine, arginine, leucine, tyrosine, threonine, valine, and methionine amino acids. Stress-triggered changes in key nutritional components, phenolics, lipids, proteins, and carbohydrates could have a significant impact on the nutritional value of both Azolla species, which are widely used as a sustainable food supplement for livestock, poultry, and fish industries.

Mangrove sediments represent unique microbial ecosystems that act as a buffer zone, biogeochemically recycling marine waste into nutrient-rich depositions for marine and terrestrial species. Marine unicellular protists, thraustochytrids, colonizing mangrove sediments have received attention due to their ability to produce large amounts of long-chain ω3-polyunsaturated fatty acids. This paper represents a comprehensive study of two new thraustochytrids for their production of valuable biomolecules in biomass, de-oiled cakes, supernatants, extracellular polysaccharide matrixes, and recovered oil bodies. Extracted lipids (up to 40% of DW) rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (up to 80% of total fatty acids) were mainly represented by docosahexaenoic acid (75% of polyunsaturated fatty acids). Cells also showed accumulation of squalene (up to 13 mg/g DW) and carotenoids (up to 72 µg/g DW represented by astaxanthin, canthaxanthin, echinenone, and β-carotene). Both strains showed a high concentration of protein in biomass (29% DW) and supernatants (2.7 g/L) as part of extracellular polysaccharide matrixes. Alkalinization of collected biomass represents a new and easy way to recover lipid-rich oil bodies in the form of an aqueous emulsion. The ability to produce added-value molecules makes thraustochytrids an important alternative to microalgae and plants dominating in the food, pharmacological, nutraceutical, and cosmetics industries.

The oil from thraustochytrids, unicellular heterotrophic marine protists, is increasingly used in the food and biotechnological industries as it is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, squalene and a broad spectrum of carotenoids. This study showed that the oilcake, a by-product of oil extraction, is equally valuable as it contained 38% protein/dry mass, and thraustochytrid protein isolate can be obtained with 92% protein content and recovered with 70% efficiency. The highest and lowest solubilities of proteins were observed at pH 12.0 and 4.0, respectively, the latter being its isoelectric point. Aspartic acid, glutamic acid, histidine, and arginine were the most abundant amino acids in proteins. The arginine-to-lysine ratio was higher than one, which is desired in heart-healthy foods. The denaturation temperature of proteins ranged from 167.8–174.5 °C, indicating its high thermal stability. Proteins also showed high emulsion activity (784.1 m2/g) and emulsion stability (209.9 min) indices. The extracted omega-3-rich oil melted in the range of 30–34.6 °C and remained stable up to 163–213 °C. This study shows that thraustochytrids are not only a valuable source of omega 3-, squalene- and carotenoid-containing oils, but are also rich in high-value protein with characteristics similar to those from oilseeds.