VATIS UPDATE Article

A group of researchers at Kobe University Graduate School of Science, Technology and Innovation, Japan, has developed a new method to synthesize oil within microalgae cells, which could lead to more efficient biofuel development. The research, led by Professor Hasunuma Tomohisa and Kato Yuichi, found that Chlaamydomonas sp. JSC4, a new species of green algae harvested from brackish water, combines a high growth rate with high levels of lipids.

The researchers developed a new analysis method called dynamic metabolic profiling, which they used to analyze JSC4 and observe how the algae produces oil within its cells. The researchers incubated JSC4 with carbon dioxide as the sole carbon source, and four days after the start of incubation, over 55 percent of cell weight consisted of a carbohydrate – mainly starch.

The researchers saw a decrease in carbohydrates and an increase in oil when the saltwater was comprised of 1-to-2 percent of the incubation liquid. Seven days after the start of incubation over 45 percent of cell weight had become oil. By using this method, the researchers revealed that the sugar biosynthesis pathway, which is activated when starch is produced, slows down and the pathway is activated for synthesizing tri-acylglycerol, a constituent element of oil.