Osmotic Stress Effect over Carbohydrate Production in a Native Starin of Scenedesmus sp.

Pilar Bremauntz, Luis C. Fernández-Linares, Rosa O. Cañizares-Villanueva

Departamento de Biotecnología y Bioingeniería, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, México, D.F., México.
Laboratory of Bioprocesses, Department of Bioprocesses, Unidad Profesional Interdisciplinaria de Biotecnología (UPIBI), Instituto Politécnico Nacional, México, D.F., México.

DOI: 10.4236/nr.2014.51002                

Abstract

The production of biofuels is currently presented as a possible answer in the search for sustainable alternatives for the total or partial substitution of fossil fuels. One of the most successful biofuels that have been developed is bioethanol. However, bioethanol production has been limited since it relies on the use of sugar cane or cereals. These materials are important sources of food and their demand as both a biofuel and a foodstuff has led to the price increase and may lead to possible shortages. Our group has focused on searching for native microalgae as sources of carbohydrates and bioethanol, with the goal of finding a sustainable source of bioethanol. Currently, twelve different strains which reach growth rates between 0.7 - 1.8 g/L and present carbohydrate production under osmotic shock conditions have been isolated. In this work, we demonstrate the results obtained with the Chlorella sp. [1] strain and the results obtained with the Scenedesmus sp. strain. The Scenedesmus sp. strain showed an increase in the production from 22 to 650 mg/sugar/g of biomass (dry weight), after 24 hours of osmotic shock with 0.1 M NaCl. The osmolytes which were produced after osmotic shock were identified as sucrose and trehalose, both of which are fermentable. These results demonstrate that this strain, through the photosynthetic pathway and osmotic shock, is a potential source of fermentable sugars.

Keywords

Biofuels; Bioethanol; Microalgae; Scenedesmus sp.; Carbohydrates

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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