Fatty acid composition analyses of the DCMU resistant mutants of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Nannochloropsis oculata</Emphasis> (eustigmatophyceae)

Ultraviolet mutagenesis was applied to Nannochloropsis oculata and three mutants resistant to 3-(3, 4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea (DCMU) were isolated. The cellular chlorophyll a and total lipid content of the wild are higher in the medium supplemented with DCMU than in the control without DCMU. Without DCMU, the growth rates and chlorophyll a contents of the mutants are similar to those of the wild. Significant changes of fatty acid content and composition have occurred in DCMU-resistant mutants growing in the medium supplemented with DCMU. The total lipid, palmitic acid (16:0), palmitoleic acid (16:1ω9) and oleic (18:1ω9) contents decrease significantly, while the vaccenic acid (18:1ω11) increases significantly and the EPA content of dried powder increases slightly in the mutants. The study may provide a basis to improve EPA content in Nannochloropsis oculata in the future.