[ Article ]
New & Renewable Energy
Abbreviation: New. Renew. Energy
ISSN: 1738-3935 (Print) 2713-9999 (Online)
Online publication date 19 Feb 2025
Received 23 Dec 2024 Revised 09 Jan 2025 Accepted 15 Jan 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.7849/ksnre.2025.2033
바이오연료 지질 및 카로티노이드 색소 생산을 위한 국내 내열성 미세조류 스크리닝
이지예1) ; 유효지2) ; 김정현3) ; 박민석4) ; 이형술5) ; 오유관6), * ; 이수연7), *
Screening of Thermotolerant Microalgae for Production of Lipids and Carotenoid Pigments
Jiye Lee1) ; Hyoji Yu2) ; Jeong Hyeon Kim3) ; Minsuk Park4) ; Hyung-Sool Lee5) ; You-Kwan Oh6), * ; Soo Youn Lee7), *
1)Research Engineer, Gwangju Clean Energy Research Center, Korea Institute of Energy Research
2)M.S. Candidate, School of Chemical Engineering, Pusan National University
3)Researcher, Public CMO for Microbial-based Vaccine
4)Ph.D. Candidate. Institute of Environmental and Climate Technology, Korea Institute of Energy Technology
5)Professor, Institute of Environmental and Climate Technology, Korea Institute of Energy Technology
6)Professor, School of Chemical Engineering, Pusan National University
7)Principal Researcher, Gwangju Clean Energy Research Center, Korea Institute of Energy Research
Correspondence to : *youkwan@pusan.ac.kr (YKO) Tel: +82-51-510-2395syl@kier.re.kr (SYL) Tel: +82-62-717-2436
© 2025 by the New & Renewable Energy This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Thermotolerant microalgal strains have significant potential for industrial applications under heat-stress conditions. In this study, microalgal samples were collected from Gwangju Stream, Korea, and cultured photosynthetically at 40°C to screen for high growth and lipid productivity. Among the 12 candidates identified, Chlorella sp. KR-11 (GJ-1) exhibited the highest biomass production (1.08 g/L) and lipid content (25.7 g/100 g cell). Although biomass, lipid, and carotenoid contents were marginally reduced at 40°C compared to those at 30°C, notable metabolic adaptations were observed. Heat-stress induces a shift in fatty acid composition, which is characterized by an increase in saturated fatty acids and a decrease in unsaturated fatty acids. Similarly, carotenoid synthesis was altered, with reduced lutein and neoxanthin levels but increased β-carotene and zeaxanthin concentrations. These findings demonstrate the metabolic flexibility and thermotolerance of GJ-1 and highlight its potential for biofuel production and high-value pigment synthesis at elevated temperatures.