Growth and Lipid Production by Desmodesmus subspicatus and Potential of Lipids for Biodiesel Production

Abstract

The objective of this work was to study the growth, lipid production and lipid profile of Desmodesmus subspicatus, an isolate from Lahul Spiti, India under optimized culture conditions. Under N limitation, biomass production decreased while amount of lipids increased by 11% over control cultures (29% lipid content). The biomass of the organism increased by 10% and 9% under continuous illumination and in the culture medium with pH 6.4, respectively, while lipid content increased by 9% and 8%. The fatty acid profile of lipids of the organism under optimized conditions also changed. Under nitrogen limitation, saturated fatty acid (SFA) content was 47%, monounsaturated fatty (MUFA) were 30% and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) were 23%; under continuous illumination SFA were 47%, MUFA were 27% and PUFA were 13% compared to control cultures with 39% SFA, 23% MUFA and 38% PUFA. This indicated that fatty acid profile of lipids under optimized conditions was better from biodiesel production point of view.