Modulation of Polar Lipid Profiles in Chlorella sp. in Response to Nutrient Limitation

We evaluate the effects of nutrient limitation on cellular composition of polar lipid classes/species in Chlorella sp. using modern polar lipidomic profiling methods (liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry; LC-MS/MS). Total polar lipid concentration was highest in nutrient-replete (HN) cultures with a significant reduction in monogalactosyldiacylglycerol (MGDG), phosphatidylglycerol (PG), phosphatidylcholine (PC), and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) class concentrations for nutrient-deplete (LN) cultures. Moreover, reductions in the abundance of MGDG relative to total polar lipids versus an increase in the relative abundance of digalactosyldiacylglycerol (DGDG) were recorded in LN cultures. In HN cultures, polar lipid species composition remained relatively constant throughout culture with high degrees of unsaturation associated with acyl moieties. Conversely, in LN cultures lipid species composition shifted towards greater saturation of acyl moieties. Multivariate analyses revealed that changes in the abundance of a number of species contributed to the dissimilarity between LN and HN cultures but with dominant effects from certain species, e.g., reduction in MGDG 34:7 (18:3/16:4). Results demonstrate that Chlorella sp. significantly alters its polar lipidome in response to nutrient limitation, and this is discussed in terms of physiological significance and polar lipids production for applied microalgal production systems.