Desiccation tolerance of Botryococcus braunii (Trebouxiophyceae, Chlorophyta) and extreme temperature tolerance of dehydrated cells.

ABSTRACT: Botryococcus braunii Kützing, a green colonial microalga, occurs worldwide in both freshwater and brackish water environments. Despite considerable attention to B. braunii as a potential source of renewable fuel, many ecophysiological properties of this alga remain unknown. Here, we examined the desiccation and temperature tolerances of B. braunii using two newly isolated strains BOD-NG17 and BOD-GJ2. Both strains survived through 6- and 8-month desiccation treatments but not through a 12-month treatment. Interestingly, the desiccation-treated cells of B. braunii gained tolerance to extreme temperature shifts, i.e., high temperature (40 °C) and freezing (-20 °C). Both strains survived for at least 4 and 10 days at 40 and -20 °C, respectively, while the untreated

SUBMITTER: Demura M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3918389 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature