A Rare Phaeodactylum tricornutum Cruciform Morphotype: Culture Conditions, Transformation and Unique Fatty Acid Characteristics

A rare Phaeodactylum tricornutum cruciform morphotype was obtained and stabilized with a proportion of more than 31.3% in L1 medium and is reported for the first time. Long-term culture and observation showed that the cruciform morphotype was capable of transforming to the oval form following the degeneration of arms by two processes. After three months of culture, four morphotypes existed in a relatively stable proportion in culture for six months (10.5% for oval, 11.3% for fusiform, 37.2% for triradiate and 41.0% for cruciform). Low temperature was particularly beneficial for cruciform cell formation. As the culture temperature decreased from 25°C to 10°C, the percentage of the cruciform morphotype increased from 39.1% to 55.3% approximately. The abundant cruciform cells endowed this strain with unique fatty acid characteristics. The strain cultured at 15°C showed both maximum content of neutral lipid in a single cell and total yield. The maximum content of fatty acid methyl esters was C16:1 for Phaeodactylum tricornutum cultured at four temperatures (43.82% to 50.82%), followed by C16:0 (20.47% to 22.65%). Unique fatty acid composition endowed this strain with excellent quality for biodiesel production.