Now you see it, now you don't: differences in hydrocarbon production in the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum due to growth temperature

作者：Dodson V Joshua; Leblond Jeffrey D^*

来源：Journal of Applied Phycology, 2015, 27(4): 1463-1472.

DOI：10.1007/s10811-014-0464-6

• Alkane
• Diatom
• Hydrocarbon
• Lipid
• Phaeodactylum

Current biofuel prospects face many hurdles to becoming mass produced, such as ethanol which is lower in energy content and incompatible with the petroleum-based fuel infrastructure we live in. Consequently, the search is on for an organism that either produces naturally or can be engineered to produce a fuel source that is both comparable in energy content and compatible to the current petroleumbased infrastructure. The pennate diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum has long been a model species for studies of diatom growth, biochemistry, and lipid accumulation (e.g., triglycerides). In this study, we have used gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) to examine the hydrocarbons produced by P. tricornutum at 20 and 30 degrees C. P. tricornutum did indeed produce hydrocarbons similar to those found in petroleum-based fuels, namely octane (C-8), undecane (C-11), nonadecane (C-19), and heneicosane (C-21) at 20 degrees C. At 30 degrees C, however, the alkanes produced were instead heptadecane (C-17), octadecane (C-18), nonadecane (C-19), and eicosane (C-20). We also observed three alkenes-heptadecene (C-17:1), octadecene (C-18:1), and nonadecene (C-19:1)-which were not present at the lower temperature. If having organisms such as P. tricornutum or other microalgae produce fuel products is the direct goal, then growth temperature may very well be an important factor to consider.

• 出版日期2015-8