Harnessing diesel-degrading potential of an antarctic microalga from greenwich island and its physiological adaptation
Microalgae are well known for their metal sorption capacities, but their potential in the remediation of hydrophobic organic compounds has received little attention in polar regions. We evaluated in the laboratory the ability of an Antarctic microalga to remediate diesel hydrocarbons and also invest...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
2023
|
| Online Access: | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/108146/ |
| _version_ | 1848865085135519744 |
|---|---|
| author | Lim, Zheng Syuen Wong, Chiew-Yen Ahmad, Siti Aqlima Puasa, Nurul Aini Phang, Lai Yee Shaharuddin, Noor Azmi Merican, Faradina Convey, Peter Zulkharnain, Azham Shaari, Hasrizal Azmi, Alyza Azzura Kok, Yih-Yih Claudio, Gomez-Fuentes |
| author_facet | Lim, Zheng Syuen Wong, Chiew-Yen Ahmad, Siti Aqlima Puasa, Nurul Aini Phang, Lai Yee Shaharuddin, Noor Azmi Merican, Faradina Convey, Peter Zulkharnain, Azham Shaari, Hasrizal Azmi, Alyza Azzura Kok, Yih-Yih Claudio, Gomez-Fuentes |
| author_sort | Lim, Zheng Syuen |
| building | UPM Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Microalgae are well known for their metal sorption capacities, but their potential in the remediation of hydrophobic organic compounds has received little attention in polar regions. We evaluated in the laboratory the ability of an Antarctic microalga to remediate diesel hydrocarbons and also investigated physiological changes consequent upon diesel exposure. Using a polyphasic taxonomic approach, the microalgal isolate, WCY_AQ5_1, originally sampled from Greenwich Island (South Shetland Islands, maritime Antarctica) was identified as Tritostichococcus sp. (OQ225631), a recently erected lineage within the redefined Stichococcus clade. Over a nine-day experimental incubation, 57.6% of diesel (~3.47 g/L) was removed via biosorption and biodegradation, demonstrating the strain’s potential for phytoremediation. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed the adsorption of oil in accordance with its hydrophobic characteristics. Overall, degradation predominated over sorption of diesel. Chromatographic analysis confirmed that the strain efficiently metabolised medium-chain length n-alkanes (C-7 to C-21), particularly n-heneicosane. Mixotrophic cultivation using diesel as the organic carbon source under a constant light regime altered the car/chl-a ratio and triggered vacuolar activities. A small number of intracellular lipid droplets were observed on the seventh day of cultivation in transmission electron microscopic imaging. This is the first confirmation of diesel remediation ability in an Antarctic green microalga. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-15T13:59:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | upm-108146 |
| institution | Universiti Putra Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-15T13:59:06Z |
| publishDate | 2023 |
| publisher | Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | upm-1081462024-09-23T02:30:47Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/108146/ Harnessing diesel-degrading potential of an antarctic microalga from greenwich island and its physiological adaptation Lim, Zheng Syuen Wong, Chiew-Yen Ahmad, Siti Aqlima Puasa, Nurul Aini Phang, Lai Yee Shaharuddin, Noor Azmi Merican, Faradina Convey, Peter Zulkharnain, Azham Shaari, Hasrizal Azmi, Alyza Azzura Kok, Yih-Yih Claudio, Gomez-Fuentes Microalgae are well known for their metal sorption capacities, but their potential in the remediation of hydrophobic organic compounds has received little attention in polar regions. We evaluated in the laboratory the ability of an Antarctic microalga to remediate diesel hydrocarbons and also investigated physiological changes consequent upon diesel exposure. Using a polyphasic taxonomic approach, the microalgal isolate, WCY_AQ5_1, originally sampled from Greenwich Island (South Shetland Islands, maritime Antarctica) was identified as Tritostichococcus sp. (OQ225631), a recently erected lineage within the redefined Stichococcus clade. Over a nine-day experimental incubation, 57.6% of diesel (~3.47 g/L) was removed via biosorption and biodegradation, demonstrating the strain’s potential for phytoremediation. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed the adsorption of oil in accordance with its hydrophobic characteristics. Overall, degradation predominated over sorption of diesel. Chromatographic analysis confirmed that the strain efficiently metabolised medium-chain length n-alkanes (C-7 to C-21), particularly n-heneicosane. Mixotrophic cultivation using diesel as the organic carbon source under a constant light regime altered the car/chl-a ratio and triggered vacuolar activities. A small number of intracellular lipid droplets were observed on the seventh day of cultivation in transmission electron microscopic imaging. This is the first confirmation of diesel remediation ability in an Antarctic green microalga. Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2023 Article PeerReviewed Lim, Zheng Syuen and Wong, Chiew-Yen and Ahmad, Siti Aqlima and Puasa, Nurul Aini and Phang, Lai Yee and Shaharuddin, Noor Azmi and Merican, Faradina and Convey, Peter and Zulkharnain, Azham and Shaari, Hasrizal and Azmi, Alyza Azzura and Kok, Yih-Yih and Claudio, Gomez-Fuentes (2023) Harnessing diesel-degrading potential of an antarctic microalga from greenwich island and its physiological adaptation. Biology-Basel, 12 (8). art. no. 1142. pp. 1-18. ISSN 2079-7737 https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/12/8/1142 10.3390/biology12081142 |
| spellingShingle | Lim, Zheng Syuen Wong, Chiew-Yen Ahmad, Siti Aqlima Puasa, Nurul Aini Phang, Lai Yee Shaharuddin, Noor Azmi Merican, Faradina Convey, Peter Zulkharnain, Azham Shaari, Hasrizal Azmi, Alyza Azzura Kok, Yih-Yih Claudio, Gomez-Fuentes Harnessing diesel-degrading potential of an antarctic microalga from greenwich island and its physiological adaptation |
| title | Harnessing diesel-degrading potential of an antarctic microalga from greenwich island and its physiological adaptation |
| title_full | Harnessing diesel-degrading potential of an antarctic microalga from greenwich island and its physiological adaptation |
| title_fullStr | Harnessing diesel-degrading potential of an antarctic microalga from greenwich island and its physiological adaptation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Harnessing diesel-degrading potential of an antarctic microalga from greenwich island and its physiological adaptation |
| title_short | Harnessing diesel-degrading potential of an antarctic microalga from greenwich island and its physiological adaptation |
| title_sort | harnessing diesel-degrading potential of an antarctic microalga from greenwich island and its physiological adaptation |
| url | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/108146/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/108146/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/108146/ |