Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER
5
Chengshi Yan, Jilian Fan, and Changcheng Xu
Biosciences Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York, USA
Analysis of Oil Droplets in
Microalgae
CHAPTER OUTLINE
Introduction .............................................................................................................. 71
5.1 Nile Red as a Probe for Oil Droplets .................................................................... 72
5.1.1 Materials ......................................................................................... 74
5.1.2 Methods .......................................................................................... 76
5.2 Confocal and Transmission Electron Microscopic Observation .............................. 76
5.2.1 Materials ......................................................................................... 76
5.2.2 Methods .......................................................................................... 78
5.3 Isolation and Purification of Oil Droplets ............................................................. 79
Summary .................................................................................................................. 79
Acknowledgments ..................................................................................................... 79
References ............................................................................................................... 80
Abstract
Microalgae are diverse groups of eukaryotic organisms capable of efficiently convert-
ing sunlight into chemical energy through photosynthesis with carbohydrates and oils
as major storage products. Like other eukaryotes, microalgae store oils in dynamic sub-
cellular organelles named oil droplets. In this chapter, we present a detailed description
of basic procedures that can be followed for the isolation of mutants defective in oil
droplet biogenesis and for the imaging and analysis of oil droplets in the model uni-
cellular green alga
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
. Several commonly used methods for
isolating and purifying oil droplets in microalgae are discussed.
INTRODUCTION
Microalgae are extremely diverse group of eukaryotic organisms that thrive in a wide
range of habitats including fresh and salt water, blackish, marine and soil environ-
ments. They are the most efficient primarily biomass producer, accounting for the
