Bioprospecting the thermal waters of the Roman baths: isolation of oleaginous species and analysis of the FAME profile for biodiesel production.

ABSTRACT: The extensive diversity of microalgae provides an opportunity to undertake bioprospecting for species possessing features suited to commercial scale cultivation. The outdoor cultivation of microalgae is subject to extreme temperature fluctuations; temperature tolerant microalgae would help mitigate this problem. The waters of the Roman Baths, which have a temperature range between 39°C and 46°C, were sampled for microalgae. A total of 3 green algae, 1 diatom and 4 cyanobacterial species were successfully isolated into 'unialgal' culture. Four isolates were filamentous, which could prove advantageous for low energy dewatering of cultures using filtration.Lipid content, profiles and growth rates of the isolates were examined at temperatures of 20, 30, 40°C, with and without nitrogen starvati

SUBMITTER: Smith-Badorf HD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3571919 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature