ISOLATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF HIGH OMEGA 3 FATTY ACID PRODUCING MICROALGAE THROUGH DAIRY WASTE EFFLUENT OF DHARASHIV, MAHARASHTRA

The aim of the present study was to isolate and identify microalgae capable of overproducing omega-3 fatty acids using dairy waste effluent collected from Dharashiv, Maharashtra. Native microalgae were successfully cultivated in dairy effluent, which is rich in nutrients and organic matter. A total of ten green microalgal isolates were initially obtained using BG-11 medium. These isolates were then screened for omega-3 fatty acid productivity using autoclaved dairy effluent as the culture substrate. Among them, four isolates exhibited the highest concentrations of omega-3 fatty acids. These high-yielding strains were subsequently scaled up and subjected to molecular identification. DNA was extracted, and amplification targeting the 18S-rRNA gene was performed, followed by sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. The four isolates were identified as Scenedesmus dimorphus, Chlorella vulgaris, Choricystis parasitica, and Chlorella conductrix. All identifications were confirmed by high similarity in nBLAST results and clustering with reference sequences from the NCBI GenBank database. The findings demonstrated that dairy effluent serves as a promising source for isolating native microalgae with high potential for omega-3 fatty acid production. In addition to confirming the ability of local algal strains to produce bioactive compounds, the study highlighted the dual role of microalgae in both high-value biochemical synthesis and effluent bioremediation. These results support the application of microalgae in integrated wastewater valorization strategies and contribute to the growing interest in sustainable sources of omega-3 fatty acids.