Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 30, 2026

Dietary Supplementation of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Caenorhabditis elegans
Published on: November 29, 2013
Adaptive evolution of microalgal strains empowered by fulvic acid for enhanced polyunsaturated fatty acid production
Xiang Wang1, Shan-Wei Luo1, Wanghaoyun Luo2
1Key Laboratory of Eutrophication and Red Tide Prevention of Guangdong Higher Education Institute, College of Life Science and Technology, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China.
Abstract:
Microalgae have emerged as the potential source for value-added products such as polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). Metabolic engineering of multiple metabolic pathways has promoted eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) production in microalgae, however, further improvement is warranted owing to the burgeoning demand. Here we improved the microalgal strains by adaptive evolution under hyposalinity treatment, which showed that 70% salinity potentiated the algae to enhance PUFAs. To exploit the maximal PUFA production potential of evolved strains, we subjected evolved algae to light, temperature and fulvic acid treatment. Amongst, fulvic acid (15 mg/L) enhanced growth and achieved the highest EPA content (13.9%) in the evolved diatom. Fulvic acid enhanced antioxidant potential and unprecedently governed the expression of PUFA and lipid biosynthetic genes. Collectively, this investigation demonstrates the efficacy of adaptive evolution empowered by fulvic acid and exemplifies a feasible strain improving strategy to harness the biotechnological potential of microalgae.
Related Concept Videos
Overview of Fatty Acid Metabolism
Fatty acids are catabolized in a process called beta-oxidation, which takes place in the matrix of the mitochondria and converts their fatty acid chains into two-carbon units of acetyl groups. The acetyl...
Products of the Citric Acid Cycle
Weak Acid Solutions
Amino acids
Polyprotic Acids
Acids, Bases and Neutralization Reactions

