Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 9, 2026

Evaluation of the Effect of Growth Factors on Chlorophylls a and b Production from Microalgae
Published on: October 25, 2024
Composition of the sheath produced by the green alga Chlorella sorokiniana
K Watanabe1, M Imase, K Sasaki
1Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
Aims:
To investigate the chemical characterization of the mucilage sheath produced by Chlorella sorokiniana.
Methods And Results:
Algal mucilage sheath was hydrolysed with NaOH, containing EDTA. The purity of the hydrolysed sheath was determined by an ATP assay. The composition of polysaccharide in the sheath was investigated by high-performance anion-exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection. Sucrose, galacturonic acid, xylitol, inositol, ribose, mannose, arabinose, galactose, rhamnose and fructose were detected in the sheath as sugar components. Magnesium was detected in the sheath as a divalent cation using inductively coupled argon plasma. The sheath matrix also contained protein.
Conclusions:
It appears that the sheath is composed of sugars and metals. Mucilage sheath contains many kinds of saccharides that are produced as photosynthetic metabolites and divalent cations that are contained in the culture medium.
Significance And Impact Of The Study:
This is the first report on chemical characterization of the sheath matrix produced by C. sorokiniana.
Related Concept Videos
Green Algae
Other Algae
The Anatomy of Chloroplasts
Structure of Chloroplasts
A...
Red Algae
Anatomy of Chloroplasts
What is Photosynthesis?

