title: The selective breeding of the freshwater microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii for growth in salinity.
abstract: The potential for Chlamydomonas reinhardtii to be utilized for biofuel production was strengthened by developing it for growth in elevated salinity via the selective breeding method of genome shuffling. A population was constructed via random mutagenesis and subjected to multiple rounds of sex and growth in increasing salinity. This sexual line was capable of growth in up to 700 mM NaCl, unlike its progenitor, which could only grow in 300 mM NaCl. An asexual control line was capable of growth in 500 mM NaCl. Palmelloid aggregations increased in size and the concentration of final biomass decreased as a function of NaCl concentration, which poses considerations for future strain development. The sexual line maintained sexual efficiencies of up to 50% over the course of selection. This investigation achieved significant strain improvement of C. reinhardtii and demonstrated the clear advantage of its ability to participate in laboratory controlled and reproducible high efficiency sex.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Melbourne School of Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia. Electronic address: simontakouridis@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Simon J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Takouridis
authors.affiliation: Department of Agriculture and Food Systems, Melbourne School of Land and Environment, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia.
authors.forename: David E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Tribe
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Melbourne School of Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia; The ARC Dairy Innovation Hub and Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia.
authors.forename: Sally L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Gras
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Melbourne School of Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia.
authors.forename: Gregory J O
authors.initials: GJO
authors.lastname: Martin
mesh_terms: D018533:Biomass; D016825:Chlamydomonas reinhardtii / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development*; D032621:DNA Shuffling; D005618:Fresh Water; D058086:Microalgae / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development*; D010316:Particle Size; D012098:Reproduction / Q000187:drug effects; D054712:Salinity; D000068618:Selective Breeding; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D012965:Sodium Chloride
keywords: Biodiesel; Chlamydomonas; Evolutionary engineering; Microalgae; Strain improvement