Strain Selection for Biodiesel Production - Biotechnological Applications of Microalgae - page 18

TABLE 3.1
Lipid Accumulating Algal Groups in Terms of Abundance

Estimated
Number of
Described Species

Representative
Lipid Producer

Storage
Material

Algae Habitat

Diatoms
(Bacillariophyceae)

Chaetoceros
calcitrans,
Skeletonoma sp .,
Thalassioria
pseudonana,
Phaeodactylum
tricornutum

~100,000 d Chyrsolaminarin,

lipids,
polymer of
carbohydrates

Oceans, fresh
and brackish
water,
terrestrial

Green algae a
(Chlorophyceae)

Botryococcus
braunii,
Chlorella spp.,
Chlorella
vulgaris,
Dunaliella
salina,
Scenedemus
sp., Ulva sp.

4,053 e Starch and TAGs Freshwater,

terrestrial,
marine

Blue-green algae
(Cyanophyceae)

Spirulina sp. ~2,000 d Starch and TAGs Different

habitats

Golden algae
(Chrysophyceae)

Isochrysis sp. ~1,000 d TAGs, leucosin,

chrysolaminarin,
carbohydrates

Freshwater,
marine

Red algae b
(Rhodophyta)

Lemanea fucina ,
Gracilaria,
Porphyridium
cruentum

6,081 e Floridean starch Mostly

marine,
freshwater

Brown algae c
(Phaeophyceae)

Fucus
vesiculosus ,
Ascophyllum
nodosum

3,067 e Laminarin and

mannitol

Marine

a Seaweeds are included in the green algae (Chlorophyta);
b Red algae (Rhodophyta); and
c Brown algae (Ochrophyta or Heterokontophyta).
d Adapted from Khan et al. (2009).
e The World Conservation Union (2010).

this realm for potential application. To further illustrate this point, only fifteen of the
currently known microalgal species are mass cultivated in some applied form for use
in nutraceuticals, aquaculture feeds, or for wastewater treatment (Raja et al., 2008).
Furthermore, the estimated unknown species for all clades of algae are projected to
be two orders of magnitude greater than the currently known species (Norton et al.,
1996) (Table 3.1). Of the commercialized algae, only a few species are cultivated