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by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-24
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This study used a population-level artificial selection experiment on the unicellular green microalga Chlorella sorokiniana to test whether laboratory evolution can improve cell yield and lipid production under mildly cold (15°C) versus benign (25°C) conditions. The authors compared four selection regimes—random selection, selection for high biomass (cell yield), selection for high lipid production, and rotation between biomass and lipid selection—and reported that significant differences among regimes were not observed in evolutionary changes, implying individual-level natural selection dominated. Across lines, evolution at 15°C generally increased cell yield while reducing lipid content per cell, consistent with a trade-off, although some lines showed more than a twofold increase in cell yield and one showed a greater than twofold increase in population-level lipid yield; evolution at 25°C increased both cell and lipid yields with a positive association between them. The paper does not explicitly discuss endometriosis or adenomyosis; it was included in the corpus via a keyword match in the upstream search index.
Abstract
One challenge to large-scale microalgae cultivation, e.g., for biodiesel production, is the seasonal low-temperature conditions. We argue that seasonally varying selection in natural environments has prevented algae from better adapting to cold temperatures, and that laboratory evolution offers a promising approach for obtaining cold-adapted algal materials. We conducted a population-level artificial selection experiment with the unicellular green microalgae Chlorella sorokiniana at both a benign temperature (25℃) and a mildly cold temperature (15℃). Four artificial selection regimes were established: random selection, selection for high biomass (i.e., cell yield), selection for high lipid production, and rotation between high-biomass and high-lipid selection. We did not observe significant differences among the four selection regimes in evolutionary changes of algal cell yield or lipid yield, suggesting that natural selection at the individual level had dominated the evolutionary changes in our experiment. Compared with the ancestral strain, selection lines that had evolved at 15℃ typically exhibited increased cell yield and reduced lipid content per cell, indicating a trade-off relationship. However, substantial increases in cell yield may compensate for the reduction in lipid content per cell. Notably, three out of 16 selection lines showed > 1-fold increase in cell yield, and one exhibited > 1-fold increase in population-level lipid yield. Selection lines that had evolved at 25℃ displayed even greater increases in both cell and lipid yields, with a positive relationship between cell yield and lipid content per cell. Our results demonstrated the potential for laboratory evolution to obtain algal materials suitable for biofuel production under seasonal low-temperature conditions. Highlights Algae from natural environments not well-adapted to seasonal cold conditions. Laboratory evolution under constant conditions with Chlorella sorokiniana . Both cell yield and lipid production at a low temperature increased.
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Abstract
One challenge to large-scale microalgae cultivation, e.g., for biodiesel production, is the seasonal low-temperature conditions. We argue that seasonally varying selection in natural environments has prevented algae from better adapting to cold temperatures, and that laboratory evolution offers a promising approach for obtaining cold-adapted algal materials. We conducted a population-level artificial selection experiment with the unicellular green microalgae Chlorella sorokiniana at both a benign temperature (25℃) and a mildly cold temperature (15℃). Four artificial selection regimes were established: random selection, selection for high biomass (i.e., cell yield), selection for high lipid production, and rotation between high-biomass and high-lipid selection. We did not observe significant differences among the four selection regimes in evolutionary changes of algal cell yield or lipid yield, suggesting that natural selection at the individual level had dominated the evolutionary changes in our experiment. Compared with the ancestral strain, selection lines that had evolved at 15℃ typically exhibited increased cell yield and reduced lipid content per cell, indicating a trade-off relationship. However, substantial increases in cell yield may compensate for the reduction in lipid content per cell. Notably, three out of 16 selection lines showed > 1-fold increase in cell yield, and one exhibited > 1-fold increase in population-level lipid yield. Selection lines that had evolved at 25℃ displayed even greater increases in both cell and lipid yields, with a positive relationship between cell yield and lipid content per cell. Our results demonstrated the potential for laboratory evolution to obtain algal materials suitable for biofuel production under seasonal low-temperature conditions.
Highlights
Algae from natural environments not well-adapted to seasonal cold conditions.
Laboratory evolution under constant conditions with Chlorella sorokiniana.
Both cell yield and lipid production at a low temperature increased.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.
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