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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 11: Cell Mechanics I
BP 11.7: Talk
Tuesday, March 19, 2024, 11:30–11:45, H 2032
Trade-offs in physiology and cellular stress determine lipid productivity in motile phytoplankton — •Narges Kakavand1 and Anupam Sengupta1,2 — 1Physics of Living Matter Group, Department of Physics and Materials Science, University of Luxembourg — 2Institute for Advanced Studies, University of Luxembourg
One of the long-standing challenges in our quest to produce biofuel sustainably is the negative correlation between lipid productivity and cell growth. Following our recent study on the role of nutrients in lipid generation [1], here we demonstrate how biomechanical cues could be used as an additional parameter to control lipid production without compromising biomass. By imposing hydrodynamic cues to stress motile phytoplankton at specific time points along the growth stages (indicating different nutritional states), we quantified the resulting cell growth, photo-physiological traits, and motility, in relation to the volume of lipid produced. Late induction of hydrodynamic stresses suppressed growth and photo-physiological traits, however, when applied at a relatively earlier time point after inoculation, flow-induced stresses allowed to significantly increase lipid content without observable changes in cell growth. Our findings indicate that hydrodynamic stress, coupled with physiology and motility may offer a controlling mechanism to tune lipid generation in diverse algal species. [Ref. 1] A. Sengupta,..., N. Kakavand, Science Advances 8, eabn6005, 2022.
Keywords: phytoplankton; motility; stress; lipids; physiology