The present invention is directed to isolated microorganisms as well as strains and mutants thereof, biomasses, microbial oils, compositions, and cultures; methods of producing the microbial oils, biomasses, and mutants; and methods of using the isolated microorganisms, biomasses, and microbial oils.

The invention provides methods of transforming photosynthetic organisms, such as green algae. The methods involve methylating one or more DNA fragments of a DNA construct and transforming the one or more fragments into the photosynthetic organism. The DNA fragments can be the product of a DNA amplification procedure, such as PCR or a PCR-like procedure. In one embodiment the one or more fragments of DNA that comprise a DNA construct are dam methylated prior to being transformed into the photosynthetic organism.

The present invention relates to a method for protein enrichment of a biomass of red unicellular algae such as Galdieria and to the biomass thus obtained.

This disclosure relates to microbial technology, and more particularly to a Schizochytrium strain and a use thereof, a microbial oil containing DHA at an Sn-2 position, and a preparation and uses thereof. Sn-2 fatty acids of a triglyceride in the microbial oil contain 23% or more by weight of DHA. The microbial oil is prepared by fermentation using a Schizochytrium strain, where the Schizochytrium strain is Schizochytrium sp. with an accession number of GDMCC No. 60733.

Disclosed herein are mutant photosynthetic microorganisms having an attenuated SGI1 gene. The mutants have reduced chlorophyll and increased productivity with respect to wild type cells. Also disclosed are methods of using such mutants for producing biomass or bioproducts, and methods of screening for such mutants.

Some embodiments are directed to an apparatus for forming discrete biomass receptacles from a base material that is created via cultivating or processing algae for biofuel production. The apparatus includes a supplier to supply heat softened biomaterial; a rotatable molder to receive the heat softened biomaterial that includes a heated hollow mold; a rotator configured to rotate the rotatable molder; and a controller configured to control the rotator to rotate the heated hollow mold such that the heat softened biomaterial disperses and adheres to walls of the heated hollow mold, the controller also being configured to control the rotator to continue rotating the heated hollow mold as the heat softened biomaterial cools so as to impede sagging and deformation of the biomass receptables being formed, such that the receptacles that are formed are configured to house algae via at least one of the cultivating and processing of the algae.

The present disclosure relates to strains of Thraustochytrium genus, including a high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids, and a method of producing a biomass using the same. According to the novel CJM01 microalgae of Thraustochytrium genus of the present disclosure, the content of lipids in the biomass and the content of unsaturated fatty acid such as docosahexaenoic acid in the biomass are high, so that the microalgae itself, a biomass produced by the culturing and fermentation of microalgae, a condensate of the biomass, and a dried product of the biomass are very useful as a feed composition.

The present invention relates to a method to selectively produce metabolites from microalgae Galdieria sp. The method of the present invention comprises multiplying the biomass of the microalgae in mixotrophic and/or heterotrophic conditions with the presence of salts, separating the biomass, washing the biomass and inducing the production of metabolites, where the culture conditions of the metabolite production stage depend on the molecule that is desired to be obtained.

The present invention relates to a novel violaxanthin-overproducing strain of Chlorella vulgaris and a method of producing violaxanthin therefrom. The inventors have developed a strain that produces violaxanthin at a significantly higher level than a wild-type strain by inducing a random chemical mutation in a Chlorella vulgaris strain to, and then as a result of analysis, confirmed that the strain produces violaxanthin up to 0.41% based on dry weight, which reaches the highest level that is possible to be produced in microalgae. Furthermore, as a method of effectively extracting a carotenoid pigment containing violaxanthin from the strain was established, since the strain and the developed pigment extraction method according to the present invention allow effective production and separation of violaxanthin, the strain is expected to increase commercial applications such as cosmetics, health functional foods and feed.

A method for the fractionation of fatty acids with a difference of two carbons by molecular distillation with double pass fractionation between eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids, and compositions of microorganism oils enriched in eicosapentaenoic or docosahexaenoic acid. The method wherein (i) a reaction step between an microorganism oil including omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in triglyceride form and an alcohol in the presence of a chemical or enzymatic catalyst, (ii) a first step of molecular distillation under high vacuum of the oil from step (i), in a scraper film evaporator coupled to a rectification column including at least seven theoretical plates, and recovery of a first residue and distillate, (iii) a second step of molecular distillation under high vacuum of the step (ii) residue, in the scraper film evaporator, and recovery of a second residue and distillate.