The Diatom Nanofrustulum shiloi as a Promising Species in Modern Biotechnology

The article presents the results of studies of intensive culture of a new species of bentoplanktonic diatom N. shiloi (Lee, Reimer et McEnery) Round, Hallsteinsen et Paasche 1999 for the Black Sea. The features of the process of isolating the species into an algologically pure culture, as well as the morphological and taxonomic characteristics of the strain in light and electron scanning microscopes are described in detail. The biochemical and production characteristics of the strain were studied, as well as the ability to accumulate fucoxanthin (Fx) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in laboratory conditions. In the exponential growth phase, the specific culture growth rate was µ=0.8 1/day, and the maximum productivity P = 0.46 g dry weight /(L day). The accumulation of PUFAs in the biomass of N. shiloi reached 67.39 mg/g dry weight of algae. The Fx concentration in the biomass at the beginning of the stationary growth phase was 10 mg/g dry weight. The fairly high rate of Fx biosynthesis in microalgae cells, as well as the composition of fatty acids of the Black Sea strain, make it possible to classify N. shiloi as a promising object in biotechnology.