Morphological Characteristic and Cellular Components of Newly Isolated Haematococcus sp. KORDI03 in Korea

Abstract

We isolated a novel red-cyst forming microalga from residual water at the Korea Institute of Ocean Science & Technology (KIOST) in 2009, and identified it as belonging to the genus Haematococcus (strain designated Haematococcus sp. KORDI03). Cellular structures of the microalga were investigated using transmission electron microscope, and then several cellular organs such as the nucleus, chloroplast, pyrenoid, starch granules and lipid droplets were observed. In order to evaluate its potential use of industry, cellular components of the strain were further analyzed. According to the biochemical analysis of the strain, its protein (21.1±0.2%), lipid (22.2±0.9%), carbohydrate (48.8±1.8%), ash (4.9±0.8%) and moisture (3.1±0.1%) contents were estimated. Moreover, protein and carbohydrate of the microalga were mainly comprised of Alanine (11.9%) and D-glucose (47.5%), respectively. Interestingly, α-linolenic acid (38.01%) was dominantly found from the miroalga. Furthermore, astaxanthin content of the microalga is analyzing for later industrial production. Based on these results, the newly isolated Haematococcus sp. KORDI03 will have a potential for the industrial use in future microalgal biotechnology.