• ALGAE
• /
• v.34 no.4
• /
• pp.289-301
• /
• 2019

Mixotrophy in marine organisms is an important aspect of ecology and evolution. The discovery of mixotrophic abilities in phototrophic dinoflagellates alters our understanding of the dynamics of red tides. In the phototrophic dinoflagellate genus Alexandrium, some species are mixotrophic, but others are exclusively autotrophic. There are differences in the ecological roles of autotrophic and mixotrophic Alexandrium in marine food webs. However, of the 34 known Alexandrium species, the mixotrophic ability of >20 species has yet to be explored. In this study, the mixotrophic capabilities of Alexandrium insuetum CCMP2082, Alexandrium mediterraneum CCMP3433, Alexandrium pacificum CCMP3434, Alexandrium tamutum ATSH1609, and Alexandrium margalefii CAWD10 were investigated by providing each species with 22 diverse prey items including bacterium-sized microbeads (1 ㎛), the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp., algal prey species, and the ciliate Mesodinium rubrum. None of the 5 Alexandrium species fed on any of the prey items. These results increase the number of Alexandrium species lacking mixotrophic abilities to 9, compared to the 7 known mixotrophic Alexandrium species. Furthermore, the Alexandrium phylogenetic tree based on the large subunit ribosomal DNA contained 3 large clades, each of which had species with and without mixotrophic abilities. Thus, the acquisition or loss of mixotrophic abilities in Alexandrium might readily occur.

• ALGAE
• /
• v.38 no.2
• /
• pp.111-126
• /
• 2023

Mixotrophic dinoflagellates act as primary producers, prey, and predators in marine planktonic food webs, whereas exclusively autotrophic dinoflagellates are primary producers and prey. Species of the dinoflagellate genus Scrippsiella are commonly found in marine ecosystems and sometimes cause harmful red tides. Among the 28 formally described Scrippsiella species, S. acuminata has been found to be mixotrophic and two unidentified species have been found to be mixotrophic. To determine whether the other species in this genus are similarly mixotrophic, the mixotrophic ability of S. donghaiensis SDGJ1703, S. lachrymosa SLBS1703, S. masanensis SSMS0908, S. plana SSSH1009A, and S. ramonii VGO1053 was explored using 15 potential prey items, including 2-㎛ fluorescently labeled microspheres (FLM) and heterotrophic bacteria (FLB), the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp., and various microalgal prey species. The ability of S. acuminata to feed on FLM and FLB was also investigated. We found that S. donghaiensis, S. lachrymosa, S. masanensis, S. plana, and S. ramonii did not feed on any potential prey tested in this study, indicating a lack of mixotrophy. However, S. acuminata fed on both FLM and FLB, confirming its mixotrophic ability. These results lowered the proportion of mixotrophic species relative to the total number of tested Scrippsiella species for mixotrophy from 100% to 29-38%. Owing to its mixotrophic ability, S. acuminata occupies an ecological niche that is distinct from that of S. donghaiensis, S. lachrymosa, S. masanensis, S. plana, and S. ramonii.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
• /
• v.33 no.2
• /
• pp.222-228
• /
• 2022

As a possible feedstock for biodiesel, the marine green alga Tetraselmis sp. was cultivated under different conditions of phototrophic, mixotrophic and heterotrophic cultures. Glycerol, a byproduct from biodiesel production process, was used as the carbon source of mixotrophic and heterotrophic culture. The effects of glycerol supply and nitrate-repletion were compared for different trophic conditions. Mixotrophic cultivation exhibited higher biomass productivity than that of phototrophic and heterotrophic cultivation. Maximum lipid productivity of 55.5 mg L^-1 d^-1 was obtained in the mixotrophic culture with 5 g L^-1 of glycerol and 8.8 mM of nitrate due to the enhancement of both biomass and lipid accumulation. The major fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) in the produced biodiesel were palmitic acid (C16:0), oleic acid (C18:1), linoleic acid (C18:2), and linolenic acid (C18:3). The degree of unsaturation was affected by different culture conditions. The biodiesel properties predicted by correlation equations based on the FAME profiles mostly complied with the specifications from the US, Europe and Korea, with the exception of the cold-filter plugging point (CFPP) criterion of Korea.

• ALGAE
• /
• v.38 no.1
• /
• pp.39-55
• /
• 2023

Exploring mixotrophy of dinoflagellate species is critical to understanding red-tide dynamics and dinoflagellate evolution. Some species in the dinoflagellate genus Karenia have caused harmful algal blooms. Among 10 Karenia species, the mixotrophic ability of only two species, Karenia mikimotoi and Karenia brevis, has been investigated. These species have been revealed to be mixotrophic; however, the mixotrophy of the other species should be explored. Moreover, although K. mikimotoi was previously known to be mixotrophic, only a few potential prey species have been tested. We explored the mixotrophic ability of Karenia bicuneiformis, Karenia papilionacea, and Karenia selliformis and the prey spectrum of K. mikimotoi by incubating them with 16 potential prey species, including a cyanobacterium, diatom, prymnesiophyte, prasinophyte, raphidophyte, cryptophytes, and dinoflagellates. Cells of K. bicuneiformis, K. papilionacea, and K. selliformis did not feed on any tested potential prey species, indicating a lack of mixotrophy. The present study newly discovered that K. mikimotoi was able to feed on the common cryptophyte Teleaulax amphioxeia. The phylogenetic tree based on the large subunit ribosomal DNA showed that the mixotrophic species K. mikimotoi and K. brevis belonged to the same clade, but K. bicuneiformis, K. papilionacea, and K. selliformis were divided into different clades. Therefore, the presence or lack of a mixotrophic ability in this genus may be partially related to genetic characterizations. The results of this study suggest that Karenia species are not all mixotrophic, varying from the results of previous studies.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.16 no.5
• /
• pp.689-694
• /
• 2006

We investigated the potential use of various carbon sources (fructose, glucose, mannose, lactose, and glycerol) for culturing Phaeodactylum tricornutum UTEX-640 in mixotrophic and heterotrophic batch cultures. Concentrations of carbon substrates tested ranged from 0.005 M to 0.2 M. P. tricornutum did not grow heterotrophically on any of the C-sources used, but successive additions of organic carbon in mixotrophic growth mode substantially increased the biomass concentration and productivity relative to photoautotrophic controls. The maximum biomass productivities in mixotrophic cultures for glycerol, fructose, and glucose were 21.30 mg/l h, 15.80 mg/l h, and 10.20 mg/l h, respectively. These values were respectively 10-, 8-, and 5-fold higher than those obtained in the corresponding photoautotrophic control cultures. Mannose and lactose did not significantly affect microalgal growth. The biomass lipids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and pigments contents were considerably enhanced with glycerol and fructose in relation to photoautotrophic controls. The EPA content was barely affected by the sugars, but were more than 2-fold higher in glycerol-fed cultures than in photoautotrophic controls.

• Korean Journal of Plant Tissue Culture
• /
• v.28 no.3
• /
• pp.117-121
• /
• 2001

Microstructure of abaxial leaf surface and carbohydrate content of propagules grown in different culture conditions such as heterotrophic, mixotrophic and autotrophic carbon source were investigated. In the leaves of propagules which were grown in the green house, autotrophic and mixotrophic conditions, wax layer was observed, but in the leaves of the heterotrophic propagules, it was not observed. Size and number of stomata of the leaves in the heterotrophic condition was larger and more numerous than that of autotrophic propagules. Especially, stomata of the leaves in the autotrophic condition was similar to the leaves of plant grown in green house. Carbohydrate content was higher in photoautotrophic condition than that in mixotrophic and heterotrophic culture. Also, Free sugar content showed higher in photoautotrophic propagules than that in mixotrophic and heterotrophic culture. In all the culture conditions, content of glucose were higher than that of other free sugars.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
• /
• v.31 no.4
• /
• pp.357-362
• /
• 2017

Acetate, propionate, butyrate are the major soluble volatile fatty acids metabolites of fermented food waste leachates. This work investigate the effects of volatile fatty acid on the growth rate and $NH_4-N$, $PO_4-P$ removal efficiency of mixotrophic microalgae Chlorella vulgaris to treat digested food waste leachates. The results showed that acetate, propionate and butyrate were efficiently utilized by Chlorella vulgaris and microalgae growth was higher than control condition. Similar trends were observed upon $NH_4-N$ and $PO_4-P$ consumption. Volatile fatty acids promoted Chlorella vulgaris growth, and nutrient removal efficiencies were highest when acetate was used, and butyrate and propionate showed second and third. From this work it could be said that using mixotrophic microalgae, in this work Chlorella vulgaris, fermented food waste leachates can be treated with high efficiencies.

• Environmental Engineering Research
• /
• v.20 no.1
• /
• pp.25-32
• /
• 2015

The growth of the algae strains Neochloris oleabundans, Botryococcus Braunii and Dunaliella sp. under mixotrophic conditions in the presence of different concentrations of crude glycerol was evaluated with the objective of increasing the biomass growth and algal oil content. A high biomass concentration was characteristic of these strains when grown on crude glycerol compared to autotrophic growth, and 5 g/L glycerol yielded the highest biomass concentration for these strains. Mixotrophic conditions improved both the growth of the microalgae and the accumulation of triacylglycerols (TAGs). The maximum amount of TAGs in the algal strains was obtained in the 5 g/L glycerol growth medium. The fatty acid profiles of the oil for the cultures met the necessary requirements and are promising resources for biofuel production.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.37 no.1
• /
• pp.61-71
• /
• 2015

Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) produced from marine organisms is widely used in nutraceuticals. Monodus subterraneus and Nannochloropsis oceanica, which are representative freshwater and marine Eustigmatophyceae, respectively, are known to have a high content of protein and lipid, particularly, EPA. In this study, to compare the growth and nutritional composition of M. subterraneus and N. oceanica, they were cultured in autotrophic and mixotrophic conditions with JM and f/2 medium, respectively, at $25^{\circ}C$. In addition, $80{\mu}mol\;photons\;m^{-2}s^{-1}$ with 24-hour and 12-hour light was provided, with the addition of 2% glucose to the medium for the mixotrophic culture. With regard to growth, M. subterraneus showed 10 times higher biomass in a mixotrophic culture than in an autotrophic one. However, no significant difference was observed for N. oceanica between the two culture methods. With respect to nutritional composition, M. subterraneus cultured autotrophically had a higher protein and lipid content, particularly EPA, than that cultured mixotrophically, but no significant difference was found in the two cultures of N. oceanica. Furthermore, M. subterraneus cultured autotrophically with continuous light showed higher nutritional composition, particularly EPA, than N. oceanica. In conclusion, the mass culture of freshwater M. subterraneus is much easier and more economical than marine N. oceanica. In addition, production of EPA will be economically improved if mixotrophic culturing of M. subterraneus is first conducted to maximize the biomass, and then secondary autotrophic culturing is performed.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.17-22
• /
• 2009

The mixotrophic growth with methanol plus thiosulfate was examined in nutrient-limited mixotrophic condition for Methylobacterium goesingense CBMB5 and Methylobacterium fujisawaense CBMB37. Thiosulfate oxidation increased the growth and protein yield in mixotrophic medium that contained 150mM methanol and 20mM sodium thiosulfate, at 144 h. Respirometric study revealed that thiosulfate was the most preferable reduced inorganic sulfur source, followed by sulfite and sulfur. M. goesingense CBMB5 and M. fujisawaense CBMB37 oxidized thiosulfate directly to sulfate, and intermediate products of thiosulfate oxidation such as polythionates, sulfite, and sulfur were not detected in spent medium and they did not yield positive amplification for tested soxB primers. Enzymes of thiosulfate oxidation such as rhodanese and sulfite oxidase activities were detected in cell-free extracts of M. goesingense CBMB5, and M. fujisawaense CBMB37, and thiosulfate oxidase (tetrathionate synthase) activity was not observed. It indicated that both the organisms use the "non-S4 intermediate" sulfur oxidation pathway for thiosulfate oxidation. It is concluded from this study that M. goesingense CBMB5, and M. fujisawaense CBMB37 exhibited mixotrophic metabolism in medium containing methanol plus thiosulfate and that thiosulfate oxidation and the presence of a "Paracoccus sulfur oxidation" (PSO) pathway in methylotrophic bacteria are species dependant.