Characterization of <i>Euglena gracilis</i> Mutants Generated by Long-Term Serial Treatment with a Low Concentration of Ethyl Methanesulfonate
<i>Euglena gracilis</i> is a microalga that has great promise for the production of biofuels, functional foods, and bioactive compounds, and mutagenesis and effective screening methods are required to develop <i>Euglena</i> strains that have industrial use. Ethyl methanesulfo...
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MDPI AG
2025-02-01
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| author | Ji-Yeon Kang Younglan Ban Eui-Cheol Shin Jong-Hee Kwon |
| author_facet | Ji-Yeon Kang Younglan Ban Eui-Cheol Shin Jong-Hee Kwon |
| author_sort | Ji-Yeon Kang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <i>Euglena gracilis</i> is a microalga that has great promise for the production of biofuels, functional foods, and bioactive compounds, and mutagenesis and effective screening methods are required to develop <i>Euglena</i> strains that have industrial use. Ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) is a widely used mutagen, but is highly lethal to <i>Euglena</i> at typical concentrations. In the present study, low-concentration, long-time EMS exposure combined with serial treatment was introduced for generating <i>Euglena</i> mutants. We then used screening protocols to select cells with altered motility or pigmentation, and isolated two distinct strains of <i>Euglena</i>: Mutant 333 and Mutant 335. Mutant 333 showed increased motility but exhibited a decreased differentiation rate and reduced paramylon content (13.5%), making it unsuitable for industrial applications. However, Mutant 335, which had a deficiency of chlorophyll, had a high paramylon content (31.62%) and a mild and pleasant odor profile due to decreased concentrations of certain volatile compounds, with confirmation by GC-MS analysis. The Mutant 335 strain is suitable for the production of functional food products and renewable jet fuel. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e9fa6ae20d1f42e0888ce4e93f33b664 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2076-2607 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Microorganisms |
| spelling | doaj-art-e9fa6ae20d1f42e0888ce4e93f33b6642025-08-20T03:12:15ZengMDPI AGMicroorganisms2076-26072025-02-0113237010.3390/microorganisms13020370Characterization of <i>Euglena gracilis</i> Mutants Generated by Long-Term Serial Treatment with a Low Concentration of Ethyl MethanesulfonateJi-Yeon Kang0Younglan Ban1Eui-Cheol Shin2Jong-Hee Kwon3Division of Applied Life Sciences (BK21), Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 52828, Republic of KoreaDepartment of GreenBio Science/Food Science and Technology, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 52828, Republic of KoreaDepartment of GreenBio Science/Food Science and Technology, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 52828, Republic of KoreaDivision of Applied Life Sciences (BK21), Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 52828, Republic of Korea<i>Euglena gracilis</i> is a microalga that has great promise for the production of biofuels, functional foods, and bioactive compounds, and mutagenesis and effective screening methods are required to develop <i>Euglena</i> strains that have industrial use. Ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) is a widely used mutagen, but is highly lethal to <i>Euglena</i> at typical concentrations. In the present study, low-concentration, long-time EMS exposure combined with serial treatment was introduced for generating <i>Euglena</i> mutants. We then used screening protocols to select cells with altered motility or pigmentation, and isolated two distinct strains of <i>Euglena</i>: Mutant 333 and Mutant 335. Mutant 333 showed increased motility but exhibited a decreased differentiation rate and reduced paramylon content (13.5%), making it unsuitable for industrial applications. However, Mutant 335, which had a deficiency of chlorophyll, had a high paramylon content (31.62%) and a mild and pleasant odor profile due to decreased concentrations of certain volatile compounds, with confirmation by GC-MS analysis. The Mutant 335 strain is suitable for the production of functional food products and renewable jet fuel.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/2/370<i>Euglena gracilis</i>EMS mutagenesismutant selectionparamylonvolatile compounds |
| spellingShingle | Ji-Yeon Kang Younglan Ban Eui-Cheol Shin Jong-Hee Kwon Characterization of <i>Euglena gracilis</i> Mutants Generated by Long-Term Serial Treatment with a Low Concentration of Ethyl Methanesulfonate Microorganisms <i>Euglena gracilis</i> EMS mutagenesis mutant selection paramylon volatile compounds |
| title | Characterization of <i>Euglena gracilis</i> Mutants Generated by Long-Term Serial Treatment with a Low Concentration of Ethyl Methanesulfonate |
| title_full | Characterization of <i>Euglena gracilis</i> Mutants Generated by Long-Term Serial Treatment with a Low Concentration of Ethyl Methanesulfonate |
| title_fullStr | Characterization of <i>Euglena gracilis</i> Mutants Generated by Long-Term Serial Treatment with a Low Concentration of Ethyl Methanesulfonate |
| title_full_unstemmed | Characterization of <i>Euglena gracilis</i> Mutants Generated by Long-Term Serial Treatment with a Low Concentration of Ethyl Methanesulfonate |
| title_short | Characterization of <i>Euglena gracilis</i> Mutants Generated by Long-Term Serial Treatment with a Low Concentration of Ethyl Methanesulfonate |
| title_sort | characterization of i euglena gracilis i mutants generated by long term serial treatment with a low concentration of ethyl methanesulfonate |
| topic | <i>Euglena gracilis</i> EMS mutagenesis mutant selection paramylon volatile compounds |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/2/370 |
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