Biotechnology Bulletin ›› 2019, Vol. 35 ›› Issue (5): 76-84.doi: 10.13560/j.cnki.biotech.bull.1985.2018-1098

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Algae-bacteria Symbiosis Increases Biomass and Oil Production of Chlorella emersonii

ZHAGN Jing-jie, DUAN Lu-lu, CHENG Wei-lan, JI Chun-li, CUI Hong-li, LI Run-zhi   

  1. Institute of Molecular Agriculture and Bioenergy,Shanxi agriculture university,Taigu 030801
  • Received:2018-12-28 Online:2019-05-26 Published:2019-05-23

Abstract: The large-scale cultivation of microalgae is often accompanied by bacteria and their infection. Limited information is available for the effect of bacteria in phycosphere on microalgae growth and the mechanism of algae-bacterial symbiosis. In order to establish a beneficial algae-bacterial symbiotic system and increase the biomass production of microalgae,Chlorella emersonii was selected as the test material,and microflora in phycosphere was isolated and then identified by 16S rDNA sequencing. The dominant growth-promoting bacteria were screened by co-culture of algae and bacteria(1∶1). Various algae-bacterial co-culture systems at different ratios were artificially constructed to analyze the effects of dominant growth-promoting bacteria on microalgae growth and biomass yield. The results showed that 6 bacteria were isolated from the phycosphere of C. emersonii strain SXND-25,belonging to the 4 genera Pantoea,Pseudomonas,Enterococcus gallinarum and Escherichia coli. Of them,Pseudomonas and Pantoea were the dominant growth-promoting bacteria. Compared with other co-culture systems at different ratios of algae and bacteria,a symbiotic system of C. emersonii and Pantoea(1∶5)showed outstanding growth-promoting effects. The biomass of C. emersonii increased to 5.86 g/L on the 8th day of cultivation,the oil content was 26.88% in algal cells,with 1.575 g/L total oil production and 554-564 mg/L monounsaturated fatty acid(MUFA). Another excellent combination was 1∶1 co-culture of C. emersonii and Pseudomonas. The biomass of C. emersonii on the 8th day was 4.12 g/L,the oil content of algal cells was 29.50%,and the total oil production reached 1.215 g/L,but low MUFA content(168-175 mg/L). The present study demonstrated that adding the appropriate amount of growth-promoting bacteria in the cultivation of C. emersonii simultaneously increased algal biomass and oil production,providing solid scientific reference for investigating the algal-bacterial interaction effect and the application of beneficial algal-bacterial symbiosis system in commercial production of microalgae.

Key words: Chlorella emersonii, bacterial flora/community in phycosphere, algae-bacteria symbiosis, algal biomass, oil accumulation.