Unwrapping the (glyco-)lipidome in the microalgae Microchloropsis gaditana: Effects of eco-friendly extraction methods

Marlene Pühringer; Evelyn Rampler; Natalia Castejon Caballero

doi:10.1016/j.algal.2024.103480

Unwrapping the (glyco-)lipidome in the microalgae Microchloropsis gaditana: Effects of eco-friendly extraction methods

Marlene Pühringer
, Evelyn Rampler (Corresponding author)
, Natalia Castejon Caballero (Corresponding author)

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Abstract

Microalgae have recently captivated worldwide attention because of their extraordinary lipid composition, which includes essential omega-3 and omega-6 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA), neutral lipids, and more complex lipids (glycolipids and phospholipids), as well as eicosanoids. To explore this further, we present a novel (glyco-)lipidomics strategy, including a green chemistry extraction approach, liquid chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) lipid profiling, and a comprehensive data evaluation workflow. Using untargeted lipidomics based on LC-HRMS approaches, we studied the lipid composition up to the molecular species level of the microalgae Microchloropsis gaditana (formerly Nannochloropsis gaditana), focusing on the distribution of saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty acids in different lipid classes. Our analysis successfully identified 520 lipid molecular species from 18 lipid classes. Regarding fatty acid composition, our primary focus was on elucidating the distribution of LC-PUFA across the different microalgal lipid classes. This particular strategy holds potential as it may unravel the use of microalgal lipids as innovative sources of food ingredients. Our findings show that LC-PUFA are relatively elevated in membrane lipids, in which cholesterol esters (ChE) have the highest PUFA share (94 %), followed by polar membrane lipids (glycolipids and phospholipids), with phosphatidylethanolamines (PE) up to 67 %, phosphatidylglycerols (PG) up to 47 %, and monogalactosyldiacylglycerols (MGDG) up to 47 % PUFA content. This highlights the high percentage of PUFA in the structural parts of microalgae and the importance of these lipid classes as a reservoir for PUFA. Finally, we also compared a classical Folch extraction method with environmentally friendly ultrasound-assisted extraction approaches and enzymatic pre-treatments to investigate the lipid composition and enrichment of valuable lipid classes. Thus, this extensive analysis of the (glyco-)lipidome of Microchloropsis gaditana provides valuable insights into the existing knowledge about this microalgae species, enhancing our understanding of the complex lipid composition and opening up new opportunities for potential applications in the biotechnology and food industry.

Original language	English
Article number	103480
Journal	Algal Research
Volume	79
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.algal.2024.103480
Publication status	Published - Apr 2024

Funding

This research was funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 847693. The authors thank the European Commission and the University of Vienna for the Marie-Curie REWIRE fellow granted to Natalia Castejón. The authors also thank Novozymes for kindly providing the enzymatic solutions. The authors acknowledge the financial and scientific support of the (1) Department of Analytical Chemistry and (2) Department of Food Chemistry and Toxicology at the Faculty of Chemistry of the University of Vienna. We further thank all members of the Rampler, Koellensperger, and Marko labs for their great team spirit and scientific exchange. Open Access Funding is funded by the University of Vienna.

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

104009 Food chemistry

Keywords

Glycolipids
Green extraction approaches
LC-MS/MS
Lipidomics
Microchloropsis gaditana
Phospholipids

Access to Document

10.1016/j.algal.2024.103480Licence: CC BY 4.0

https://phaidra.univie.ac.at/o:2068223Licence: CC BY 4.0

Cite this

@article{6556cb5638af4ecc9971aed46dcf2e9a,

title = "Unwrapping the (glyco-)lipidome in the microalgae Microchloropsis gaditana: Effects of eco-friendly extraction methods",

abstract = "Microalgae have recently captivated worldwide attention because of their extraordinary lipid composition, which includes essential omega-3 and omega-6 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA), neutral lipids, and more complex lipids (glycolipids and phospholipids), as well as eicosanoids. To explore this further, we present a novel (glyco-)lipidomics strategy, including a green chemistry extraction approach, liquid chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) lipid profiling, and a comprehensive data evaluation workflow. Using untargeted lipidomics based on LC-HRMS approaches, we studied the lipid composition up to the molecular species level of the microalgae Microchloropsis gaditana (formerly Nannochloropsis gaditana), focusing on the distribution of saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty acids in different lipid classes. Our analysis successfully identified 520 lipid molecular species from 18 lipid classes. Regarding fatty acid composition, our primary focus was on elucidating the distribution of LC-PUFA across the different microalgal lipid classes. This particular strategy holds potential as it may unravel the use of microalgal lipids as innovative sources of food ingredients. Our findings show that LC-PUFA are relatively elevated in membrane lipids, in which cholesterol esters (ChE) have the highest PUFA share (94 \%), followed by polar membrane lipids (glycolipids and phospholipids), with phosphatidylethanolamines (PE) up to 67 \%, phosphatidylglycerols (PG) up to 47 \%, and monogalactosyldiacylglycerols (MGDG) up to 47 \% PUFA content. This highlights the high percentage of PUFA in the structural parts of microalgae and the importance of these lipid classes as a reservoir for PUFA. Finally, we also compared a classical Folch extraction method with environmentally friendly ultrasound-assisted extraction approaches and enzymatic pre-treatments to investigate the lipid composition and enrichment of valuable lipid classes. Thus, this extensive analysis of the (glyco-)lipidome of Microchloropsis gaditana provides valuable insights into the existing knowledge about this microalgae species, enhancing our understanding of the complex lipid composition and opening up new opportunities for potential applications in the biotechnology and food industry.",

keywords = "Glycolipids, Green extraction approaches, LC-MS/MS, Lipidomics, Microchloropsis gaditana, Phospholipids",

author = "Marlene P{\"u}hringer and Evelyn Rampler and \{Castejon Caballero\}, Natalia",

note = "Funding Information: This research was funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sk{\l}odowska-Curie grant agreement No 847693. The authors thank the European Commission and the University of Vienna for the Marie-Curie REWIRE fellow granted to Natalia Castej{\'o}n. The authors also thank Novozymes for kindly providing the enzymatic solutions. The authors acknowledge the financial and scientific support of the (1) Department of Analytical Chemistry and (2) Department of Food Chemistry and Toxicology at the Faculty of Chemistry of the University of Vienna. We further thank all members of the Rampler, Koellensperger, and Marko labs for their great team spirit and scientific exchange. Open Access Funding is funded by the University of Vienna. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2024 The Authors",

year = "2024",

month = apr,

doi = "10.1016/j.algal.2024.103480",

language = "English",

volume = "79",

journal = "Algal Research",

issn = "2211-9264",

publisher = "ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Unwrapping the (glyco-)lipidome in the microalgae Microchloropsis gaditana: Effects of eco-friendly extraction methods

AU - Pühringer, Marlene

AU - Rampler, Evelyn

AU - Castejon Caballero, Natalia

N1 - Funding Information: This research was funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 847693. The authors thank the European Commission and the University of Vienna for the Marie-Curie REWIRE fellow granted to Natalia Castejón. The authors also thank Novozymes for kindly providing the enzymatic solutions. The authors acknowledge the financial and scientific support of the (1) Department of Analytical Chemistry and (2) Department of Food Chemistry and Toxicology at the Faculty of Chemistry of the University of Vienna. We further thank all members of the Rampler, Koellensperger, and Marko labs for their great team spirit and scientific exchange. Open Access Funding is funded by the University of Vienna. Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The Authors

PY - 2024/4

Y1 - 2024/4

N2 - Microalgae have recently captivated worldwide attention because of their extraordinary lipid composition, which includes essential omega-3 and omega-6 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA), neutral lipids, and more complex lipids (glycolipids and phospholipids), as well as eicosanoids. To explore this further, we present a novel (glyco-)lipidomics strategy, including a green chemistry extraction approach, liquid chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) lipid profiling, and a comprehensive data evaluation workflow. Using untargeted lipidomics based on LC-HRMS approaches, we studied the lipid composition up to the molecular species level of the microalgae Microchloropsis gaditana (formerly Nannochloropsis gaditana), focusing on the distribution of saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty acids in different lipid classes. Our analysis successfully identified 520 lipid molecular species from 18 lipid classes. Regarding fatty acid composition, our primary focus was on elucidating the distribution of LC-PUFA across the different microalgal lipid classes. This particular strategy holds potential as it may unravel the use of microalgal lipids as innovative sources of food ingredients. Our findings show that LC-PUFA are relatively elevated in membrane lipids, in which cholesterol esters (ChE) have the highest PUFA share (94 %), followed by polar membrane lipids (glycolipids and phospholipids), with phosphatidylethanolamines (PE) up to 67 %, phosphatidylglycerols (PG) up to 47 %, and monogalactosyldiacylglycerols (MGDG) up to 47 % PUFA content. This highlights the high percentage of PUFA in the structural parts of microalgae and the importance of these lipid classes as a reservoir for PUFA. Finally, we also compared a classical Folch extraction method with environmentally friendly ultrasound-assisted extraction approaches and enzymatic pre-treatments to investigate the lipid composition and enrichment of valuable lipid classes. Thus, this extensive analysis of the (glyco-)lipidome of Microchloropsis gaditana provides valuable insights into the existing knowledge about this microalgae species, enhancing our understanding of the complex lipid composition and opening up new opportunities for potential applications in the biotechnology and food industry.

AB - Microalgae have recently captivated worldwide attention because of their extraordinary lipid composition, which includes essential omega-3 and omega-6 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA), neutral lipids, and more complex lipids (glycolipids and phospholipids), as well as eicosanoids. To explore this further, we present a novel (glyco-)lipidomics strategy, including a green chemistry extraction approach, liquid chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) lipid profiling, and a comprehensive data evaluation workflow. Using untargeted lipidomics based on LC-HRMS approaches, we studied the lipid composition up to the molecular species level of the microalgae Microchloropsis gaditana (formerly Nannochloropsis gaditana), focusing on the distribution of saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty acids in different lipid classes. Our analysis successfully identified 520 lipid molecular species from 18 lipid classes. Regarding fatty acid composition, our primary focus was on elucidating the distribution of LC-PUFA across the different microalgal lipid classes. This particular strategy holds potential as it may unravel the use of microalgal lipids as innovative sources of food ingredients. Our findings show that LC-PUFA are relatively elevated in membrane lipids, in which cholesterol esters (ChE) have the highest PUFA share (94 %), followed by polar membrane lipids (glycolipids and phospholipids), with phosphatidylethanolamines (PE) up to 67 %, phosphatidylglycerols (PG) up to 47 %, and monogalactosyldiacylglycerols (MGDG) up to 47 % PUFA content. This highlights the high percentage of PUFA in the structural parts of microalgae and the importance of these lipid classes as a reservoir for PUFA. Finally, we also compared a classical Folch extraction method with environmentally friendly ultrasound-assisted extraction approaches and enzymatic pre-treatments to investigate the lipid composition and enrichment of valuable lipid classes. Thus, this extensive analysis of the (glyco-)lipidome of Microchloropsis gaditana provides valuable insights into the existing knowledge about this microalgae species, enhancing our understanding of the complex lipid composition and opening up new opportunities for potential applications in the biotechnology and food industry.

KW - Glycolipids

KW - Green extraction approaches

KW - LC-MS/MS

KW - Lipidomics

KW - Microchloropsis gaditana

KW - Phospholipids

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85188515051

U2 - 10.1016/j.algal.2024.103480

DO - 10.1016/j.algal.2024.103480

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85188515051

SN - 2211-9264

VL - 79

JO - Algal Research

JF - Algal Research

M1 - 103480

ER -

Unwrapping the (glyco-)lipidome in the microalgae Microchloropsis gaditana: Effects of eco-friendly extraction methods

Abstract

Funding

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this