Modulation of Polar Lipid Profiles in Chlorella sp. in Response to Nutrient Limitation

Abstract

We evaluate the effects of nutrient limitation on cellular composition of polar lipid classes/species in Chlorella sp. using modern polar lipidomic profiling methods (liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry; LC-MS/MS). Total polar lipid concentration was highest in nutrient-replete (HN) cultures with a significant reduction in monogalactosyldiacylglycerol (MGDG), phosphatidylglycerol (PG), phosphatidylcholine (PC), and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) class concentrations for nutrient-deplete (LN) cultures. Moreover, reductions in the abundance of MGDG relative to total polar lipids versus an increase in the relative abundance of digalactosyldiacylglycerol (DGDG) were recorded in LN cultures. In HN cultures, polar lipid species composition remained relatively constant throughout culture with high degrees of unsaturation associated with acyl moieties. Conversely, in LN cultures lipid species composition shifted towards greater saturation of acyl moieties. Multivariate analyses revealed that changes in the abundance of a number of species contributed to the dissimilarity between LN and HN cultures but with dominant effects from certain species, e.g., reduction in MGDG 34:7 (18:3/16:4). Results demonstrate that Chlorella sp. significantly alters its polar lipidome in response to nutrient limitation, and this is discussed in terms of physiological significance and polar lipids production for applied microalgal production systems.

Metabolic response of Botryococcus braunii to high bicarbonate dosages and other conditions: analysis of photosynthetic performance, productivity, and lipidomic profile

“…This is in agreement with our observations of a major abundance of DGDG compared to MGDG species (Fig. 4b, c), and with results published by other authors (Li et al 2014;Han et al 2017;White et al 2019;Kokabi et al 2020).…”

“…MGDG reduction under nutrient limitation is consistent with its role as the major thylakoid constituent and its function in the photosynthetic pigment-protein complexes (White et al 2019). Therefore, the loss of cellular viability following N-deprivation could be avoided by blocking photosynthetic electron transport or redirecting the exitonic energy through non-photochemical dissipation routes (Fig.…”

Polar lipidomic profile shows Chlorococcum amblystomatis as a promising source of value-added lipids

“… 24 , Chlorella sp. 42 and Chlorella kessleri 43 . Microalgal lipids have received much attention due to their high abundance of omega-3 and omega-6 PUFAs, and, more recently, due to their polar lipids content (e.g.…”

Microalgal Lipid Extracts Have Potential to Modulate the Inflammatory Response: A Critical Review

“…The lipidomic profile of several microalgae species have been studied, and significant polar lipids, represented in Figure 3 , that have been identified include species from several classes of phospholipids, such as phosphatidic acid (PA), phosphatidylserine (PS), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylinositol (PI), phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylglycerol (PG); glycolipids, such as digalactosyldiacylglycerol (DGDG), sulfoquinovosylmonoacylglycerol (SQDG), monogalactosyldiacylglycerol (MGDG); and betaines lipids, such as diacylglyceroltrimethylhomoserine (DGTS), diacylglyceryl hydroxymethyl-N,N,N-trimethyl-β-alanine (DGTA), and diacylglyceryl carboxyhydroxy methyl-choline (DGCC), as represented in Figure 3 . Some of the polar lipid species described here were reported as being biologically active [ 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ].…”