ESR studies on the membrane properties of a moderately halophilic bacterium. II. Effect of extreme growth conditions on liposome properties

Lipid preparations from the cells of a moderately halophilic bacterium, Pseudomonas halosaccharolytica grown under the two extreme conditions of high temperature-high NaCl concentration and low temperature-low NaCl concentration showed distinctively different profiles in phospholipid and fatty acid composition. Cells grown at 40 degrees C in medium containing 3.5 M NaCl had high concentrations of saturated and C19 cyclopropanoic fatty acids (about 50 per cent of the total), whereas cells grown at 20 degrees C in medium containing 0.5 M NaCl had decreased concentrations of these fatty acids with increased concentrations of the corresponding unsaturated fatty acids. The phospholipid composition was also affected ty the culture conditions; cells grown at 40 degrees C in 3.5 M NaCl had large amounts of acidic phospholipids, whereas those grown at 20 degrees C in 0.5 M NaCl had small amounts. ESR studies on liposomes prepared from lipids of cells grown under the two conditions showed characteristic profiles for correlation times and order parameters of three spin labels of stearic acid derivatives similar to those of membranes of whole cells of this bacterium. ESR studies showed that the physical properties of the liposomes from the total extractable lipids and isolated phosphatidylglycerol from the cells were completely different from those of synthetic dioleoylphosphatidylglycerol. Liposomes of the lipids extracted from cells grown at 40 degrees C in 3.5 M NaCl showed change in rotational viscosity on altering the NaCl concentration to 0.5M, whereas liposomes of lipids extracted from cells grown at 20 degrees C in 0.5 M NaCl did not show change in rotational viscosity on increasing the NaCl concentration to 3.5 M.     

Identification and characterization of a new strain of the unicellular green alga Dunaliella salina (Teod.) from Korea

The unicellular green alga Dunaliella salina is a halotolerant eukaryotic organism. Its halophytic properties provide an important advantage for open pond mass cultivation, since D. salina can be grown selectively. D. salina was originally described by E. C. Teodoresco in 1905. Since that time, numerous isolates of D. salina have been identified from hypersaline environments on different continents. The new Dunaliella strain used for this study was isolated from the salt farm area of the west coastal side of South Korea. Cells of the new strain were approximately oval- or pear-shaped (approximately 16-24 microm long and 10-15 microm wide), and contained one pyrenoid, cytoplasmatic granules, and no visible eyespot. Although levels of beta-carotene per cell were relatively low in cells grown at salinities between 0.5 to 2.5 M NaCl, cells grown at 4.5 M NaCl contained about a ten-fold increase in cellular levels of beta-carotene, which demonstrated that cells of the new Korean strain of Dunaliella can overaccumulate beta- carotene in response to salt stress. Analysis of the ITS1 and ITS2 regions of the new Korean isolate showed that it is in the same clade as D. salina. Consequently, based on comparative cell morphology, biochemistry, and molecular phylogeny, the new Dunaliella isolate from South Korea was classified as D. salina KCTC10654BP.     

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the inositol polyphosphate kinase activity of Kcs1p is required for resistance to salt stress, cell wall integrity, and vacuolar morphogenesis

A problem for inositol signaling is to understand the significance of the kinases that convert inositol hexakisphosphate to diphosphoinositol polyphosphates. This kinase activity is catalyzed by Kcs1p in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. A kcs1Delta yeast strain that was transformed with a specifically "kinase-dead" kcs1p mutant did not synthesize diphosphoinositol polyphosphates, and the cells contained a fragmented vacuolar compartment. Biogenesis of the yeast vacuole also required another functional domain in Kcs1p, which contains two leucine heptad repeats. The kinase activity of Kcs1p was also found to sustain cell growth and integrity of the cell wall and to promote adaptive responses to salt stress. Thus, the synthesis of diphosphoinositol polyphosphates has wide ranging physiological significance. Furthermore, we showed that these phenotypic responses to Kcs1p deletion also arise when synthesis of precursor material for the diphosphoinositol polyphosphates is blocked in arg82Delta cells. This metabolic block was partially bypassed, and the phenotype was partially rescued, when Kcs1p was overexpressed in the arg82Delta cells. This was due, in part, to the ability of Kcs1p to phosphorylate a wider range of substrates than previously appreciated. Our results show that diphosphoinositol polyphosphate synthase activity is essential for biogenesis of the yeast vacuole and the cell's responses to certain environmental stresses.     

Effect of salinity on the quantity and quality of carotenoids accumulated by Dunaliella salina (strain CONC-007) and Dunaliella bardawil (strain ATCC 30861) Chlorophyta

Dunaliella salina and D. bardawil are well-known microalgae accumulating high levels of beta-carotene under growth-limiting conditions. In both taxa, this pigment is primarily composed of the isomers 9-cis and all-trans. The 9-cis beta-carotene occurs only in natural sources and is the most attractive from a commercial point of view. The conditions that enhance the preferred accumulation of 9-cis beta-carotene in D. salina are controversial and they have not been well established yet. This study examined the effect of salinity on the quantity and quality of total carotenoids and beta-carotene isomers accumulated by D. salina (strain CONC-007) and D. bardawil (strain ATCC 30861) grown in two media with different nutritional compositions (PES and ART) and at salt concentrations of 1M, 2M and 3M NaCl. Total carotenoids were determined by spectrophotometry and beta-carotene isomers, by HPLC. The highest carotenoid contents per cell were obtained at 2M NaCl in both taxa. In both media, an increase of the 9-cis/all-trans beta-carotene ratio was observed in D. bardawil when the salt concentration increased, with a maximum value of 2.6 (in ART medium at 3M NaCl). In D. salina this ratio did not exhibit the same pattern, and the salt concentrations for maximal ratios were different in both media. The highest ratio obtained for this strain was 4.3 (in ART medium at 2M NaCl).     

Physiological characterization and stress-induced metabolic responses of Dunaliella salina isolated from salt pan

A Dunaliella strain was isolated from salt crystals obtained from experimental salt farm of the institute (latitude 21.46 N, longitude 72.11 degrees E). The comparative homology study of amplified molecular signature 18S rRNA, proves the isolated strain as D. salina. The growth pattern and metabolic responses such as proline, glycine betaine, glycerol, total protein and total sugar content to different salinity (from 0.5 to 5.5 M NaCl) were studied. The optimum growth was observed at 1.0 M NaCl and thereafter it started to decline. Maximum growth was obtained on 17th day of inoculation in all salt concentrations except 0.5 M NaCl, whereas maximum growth was observed on 13th day. There were no significant differences (P < 0.01) in chlorophyll a/b contents (1.0-1.16 +/- 0.05 mug chl. a and 0.2-0.29 +/- 0.01 mug chl. b per 10(6) cells) up to 2.0 M NaCl, however at 3.0 M NaCl a significant increase (2.5 +/- 0.12 mug chl. a and 0.84 +/- 0.4 mug chl. b per 10(6) cells) was observed which declined again at 5.5 M NaCl concentration (2.0 +/- 0.1 mug chl. a and 0.52 +/- 0.03 mug chl. b per 10(6) cells). Stress metabolites such as proline, glycine betaine, glycerol and total sugar content increased concomitantly with salt concentration. Maximum increase in proline (1.4 +/- 0.07 mug), glycine betaine (5.7 +/- 0.28 mug), glycerol (3.7 +/- 0.18 ml) and total sugar (250 +/- 12.5 mug) per 10(5) cells was observed in 5.5 M NaCl. A decrease in total protein with reference to 0.5 M NaCl was observed up to 3.0 M NaCl, however, a significant increase (P < 0.01) was observed at 5.5 M NaCl (0.19 +/- 0.01 mug per 10(5) cells). Inductive coupled plasma (ICP) analysis shows that intracellular Na(+) remained unchanged up to 2.0 M NaCl concentration and thereafter a significant increase was observed. No relevant increase in the intracellular level of K(+) and Mg(++) was observed with increasing salt concentration. Evaluation of physiological and metabolic attributes of Dunaliella salina can be used to explore its biotechnological and industrial potential.     

Ultrastructural changes in chloroplasts resulting from fluctuations in NaCl concentration: freeze-fracture of thylakoid membranes in Dunaliella salina.

The structure of chloroplasts isolated from Dunaliella salina has been studied with respect to changing concentrations of sodium chloride in the culture medium. Freeze-fracture replicas and thin sections of intact chloroplasts do not exhibit any noticeable changes in structure at concentrations ranging between 3.5 and 25% NaCl. Chloroplasts isolated from algal cells that have been acclimatized to the higher salt concentration show a change in the thylakoid membranes. The thylakoid membranes appear compressed over a major portion of the membrane surface, with only the end of the thylakoid membranes unappressed. The number of particles per unit area on the B face is also altered by the salt concentration. The chloroplasts acclimatized to 25% NaCl have about 3 times the number of particles per unit area on a B face of end-membranes as on a comparable face of thylakoid membranes acclimatized to low (3.5% NaCl) salt concentration. These morphological changes can be reversed if the chloroplasts acclimatized to high or low salt concentrations are returned to a medium of different salt concentration prior to freeze-fracturing.     

NaCl-induced phosphorylation of light harvesting chlorophyll a/b proteins in thylakoid membranes from the halotolerant green alga, Dunaliella salina

Light could induce phosphorylation of light harvesting chlorophyll a/b binding proteins (LHCII) in Dunaliella salina and spinach thylakoid membranes. We found that neither phosphorylation was affected by glycerol, whereas treatment with NaCl significantly enhanced light-induced LHCII phosphorylation in D. salina thylakoid membranes and inhibited that in spinach. Furthermore, even in the absence of light, NaCl and several other salts induced LHCII phosphorylation in D. salina thylakoid membranes, but not in spinach thylakoid membranes. In addition, hypertonic shock induced LHCII phosphorylation in intact D. salina under dark conditions and cells adapted to different NaCl concentrations exhibited similar LHCII phosphorylation levels. Taken together, these results show for the first time that while LHCII phosphorylation of D. salina thylakoid membranes resembles that of spinach thylakoid membranes in terms of light-mediated control, the two differ with respect to NaCl sensitivity under light and dark conditions.     

Unsaturated fatty acids in membrane lipids protect the photosynthetic machinery against salt-induced damage in Synechococcus

In this study, the tolerance to salt stress of the photosynthetic machinery was examined in relation to the effects of the genetic enhancement of the unsaturation of fatty acids in membrane lipids in wild-type and desA+ cells of Synechococcus sp. PCC 7942. Wild-type cells synthesized saturated and mono-unsaturated fatty acids, whereas desA+ cells, which had been transformed with the desA gene for the Delta12 acyl-lipid desaturase of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, also synthesized di-unsaturated fatty acids. Incubation of wild-type and desA+ cells with 0.5 M NaCl resulted in the rapid loss of the activities of photosystem I, photosystem II, and the Na+/H+ antiport system both in light and in darkness. However, desA+ cells were more tolerant to salt stress and osmotic stress than the wild-type cells. The extent of the recovery of the various photosynthetic activities from the effects of 0.5 M NaCl was much greater in desA+ cells than in wild-type cells. The photosystem II activity of thylakoid membranes from desA+ cells was more resistant to 0.5 M NaCl than that of membranes from wild-type cells. These results demonstrated that the genetically engineered increase in unsaturation of fatty acids in membrane lipids significantly enhanced the tolerance of the photosynthetic machinery to salt stress. The enhanced tolerance was due both to the increased resistance of the photosynthetic machinery to the salt-induced damage and to the increased ability of desA+ cells to repair the photosynthetic and Na+/H+ antiport systems.     

Development of Salt-Resistant Active Transport in a Moderately Halophilic Bacterium

The moderately halophilic bacterium Vibrio costicola accumulates α-aminoisobutyric acid (AIB) by active transport. Substantial amounts of Na⁺ ions are needed for this transport. This is not due to an ionic requirement for respiration; cells respire as well as KCl as in NaCl but do not transport AIB in KCl. In cells grown in the presence of 1.0 or 2.0 M NaCl, AIB transport took place in higher NaCl concentrations than in cells grown in the presence of 0.5 M NaCl. The latter cells developed salt-resistant transport when they were exposed to 1.0 M NaCl in the presence of chloramphenicol and other antibiotics that inhibit protein synthesis. Two levels of salt-resistant transport were observed. One level (resistance to 3.0 M NaCl) developed in 1.0 M NaCl without the addition of nutrients, did not seem to require an increase in internal solute concentration, and was not lost when cells grown in 1.0 M NaCl were suspended in 0.5 M NaCl. The second level (resistance to 4.0 M NaCl) developed in 1.0 M NaCl only when nutrients were added, may have required an increased internal solute concentration, and was lost when 1.0 M NaCl-grown cells were suspended in 0.5 M NaCl or KCl. Among the substances that stimulated the development of salt-resistant AIB transport, betaine was especially active. Furthermore, direct addition of betaine permitted cells to transport AIB at higher NaCl concentrations. High salt concentrations inhibited endogenous respiration to a lesser extent than AIB transport, especially in 0.5 M NaCl-grown cells. Thus, these concentrations of salt did not inhibit AIB transport by inhibiting respiration. However, oxidation of glucose and oxidation of succinate were at least as sensitive to high salt concentrations as AIB transport, suggesting that a salt-sensitive transport step(s) is involved in the oxidation of these substrates.     

The Adaptation of Dunaliella to Widely-Differing Salt Concentrations

Methods are described for adapting pure cell-lines of Dunaliella,a green unicellular alga, to grow at concentrations between0.5 M and 3.5 M NaCl. It is shown that, provided large abruptchanges are avoided, cells of the same cell-line can becomeadapted to grow over this wide range of salt concentration.Once adapted, cultures are able to continue growing at a steadyrate for many generations provided that the salt concentrationremains constant. Viability tests performed after abrupt changesin salt concentration have shown that survival is higher afterdownward than after upward changes (3.5 M to 0.5 M NaCl: 20%;0.5 M to 3.5 M NaCl: 0.01% in D. parva 19/9). When the changein concentration from 0.5 M to 3.5 M NaCl takes place over aperiod of 48 h viability approaches 100%. The time needed for100% survival for a downward change over the same range is only1.5 h. There is no evidence for a genetic difference betweencell-lines adapted to particular concentrations of salt andit is concluded that the so-called ‘halophilic’and ‘halotolerant’ strains are interchangeable.It seems likely that the difference between the two types isa matter of gene expression. Key words: Dunaliella, salt concentration, viability     

Membrane lipid composition, fluidity, and surface charge changes in response to growth of the fresh water cyanobacterium Synechococcus 6311 under high salinity

The effect of adaptation to saline growth of a fresh water cyanobacterium Synechococcus 6311 on components of the cytoplasmic membranes and thylakoids was investigated. Significant changes in membrane surface charge, lipid, fatty acid, and carotenoid composition were observed upon transfer of the cells from a low salt (0.015 M NaCl) to a high salt (0.50 M NaCl) growth medium. Very similar changes in the polar lipid classes and fatty acid composition were observed in both membranes, but changes in fluidity and surface charge and a significant shift in the protein to lipid ratio were only apparent in the cytoplasmic membranes. The fluidity and surface charge data correlate well with functional studies and we can attribute the cytoplasmic membrane as the major site of interaction and adaptation to the saline environment.     

杜氏盐藻DCA1启动子内GT重复序列在盐诱导调控中的作用

为了研究杜氏盐藻双拷贝碳酸酐酶（DCA1）启动子中高度重复的GT序列在盐诱导表达时的调控作用,设计不同的引物,通过PCR法获得6条不同长度的DCA1启动子片段,分别与gus报告基因融合后构建6个表达载体;电击法转化杜氏盐藻细胞。组织化学染色和荧光定量法检测GUS在不同盐浓度下的瞬时表达。结果显示,DCA1启动子内高度重复的GT序列无论与其上游、下游或上下游片段同时结合均能驱动gus基因的表达,并且其表达受氯化钠浓度调控,其中和上下游均结合时活性最强;无GT重复序列的融合片段及GT 重复的下游片段也能驱动gus基因的表达,但其表达不受氯化钠浓度调控;而GT重复的上游片段不能驱动gus基因的表达。结果提示:盐藻DCA1启动子中高度重复的GT序列在盐诱导调控中起重要作用,可能为一种新型的盐诱导元件。     

Relationships between heat resistance and phospholipid fatty acid composition of Vibrio parahaemolyticus.

Vibrio parahaemolyticus was grown in tryptic soy broth (TSB) containing NaCl levels of 0.5, 3.0, and 7.5% (wt/vol). Cultures incubated at 21, 29, and 37 C were harvested in late exponential phases and thermal death times at 47 C (D47 c; time at 47 C required to reduce the viable population by 90%) were determined in phosphate buffer containing 0.5, 3.0, and 7.5% NaCl. At a given NaCl concentration in the growth medium, D47 c values increased with elevated incubation temperatures and with elevated levels of NaCl in the heating menstrua. Differences in thermal resistance of cells cultured at a particular temperature were greater between those grown in TSB containing 0.5 and 3.0% NaCl than between those grown in TSB containing 3.0 and 7.5% NaCl. D47c values ranged from 0.8 min (grown at 21 C in TSB with 0.5% NaCl) to 6.5 min (grown at 37 C in TSB with 7.5%, heated in 7.5% NaCl buffer). Methyl esters of major phospholipid fatty acids extracted from cells were quantitated. The ratio of saturated to unsaturated fatty acids in cells grown at a given NaCl concentration increased with elevated incubation temperature. At a particular growth temperature, however, saturated to unsaturated fatty acids ratios were lowest for cells grown in TSB containing 3.0% NaCl.     

The effects of high concentrations of sodium or calcium ions on the lipid composition and properties of Tetrahymena membranes

Tetrahymena pyriformis cells have been grown in media varying in NaCl concentration from 3.7 mM (normal medium) to 0.3 M and varying in CaCl2 from 0.2 mM (normal medium) to 0.1 M. Tetrahymena grown in 0.3 M NaCl showed relatively few alterations in phospholipid composition, with significant changes being found only in the cell surface membranes (pellicle), which incrased in phosphatidylethanolamine content from 39% (low Na+) to 48% (high Na+) of the total phospholipids. The small decrease in fatty acid unsaturation and increase in shorter chain fatty acids in pellicle phospholipids were not statistically significant. No significant changes in phospholipid head group composition or fatty acid distribution were observed in high Ca2+-grown cells. Complementary studies of membrane fluidity, as inferred from freeze-fracture electron microscopy analysis, indicated that membranes of high Na+-acclimated cells were similar to those of control cells, when each was measured in its respective medium. However, the outer alveolar membrane of the pellicle and the food vacuolar membrane were considerably less fluid in high-Ca2+ cells. The lower fluidity in vacuolar membranes may have been responsible for alterations in the cells' capacity to form food vacuoles.     

Patterns of protein synthesis in the moderately halophilic bacterium Deleya halophila in response to sudden changes in external salinity

Abstract Exposure of the moderately halophilic bacterium, Deleya halophila , to high NaCl concentrations (2 or 2.5 M) resulted in a transient cessation of cell division. The time taken for the cells to adapt and grow depended on the final salt concentrations. During the initial phases of adaption to high salt both the rate of protein synthesis and amino acid uptake were transiently inhibited. The extent and duration of the inhibition was dependent on the magnitude of the salt shock. Alterations in the patterns of pulse-labelled proteins were observed during adaption to high salt. The response of Deleya halophila cells to decreasing salinity (2.5 to 1 M NaCl) was also characterized by distinct changes in the protein profiles, whereas minor changes in the protein patterns were observed during adaptation from 1 M to 0.5 M NaCl. The labelled protein patterns of cells grown in 1 M or 2.5 M NaCl appear to be similar but not identical.     

Adaptational changes in Staphylococcus aureus MF31 grown above its maximum temperature when protected by NaCl: physiological studies

Staphylococcus aureus MF31 can grow at 46 degrees C, 2 degrees C above its normal maximum temperature of growth if 1 M NaCl is added to the medium. In the present work we show that monosodium glutamate, proline, threonine, aspartic acid, and betaine (in order of decreasing effectiveness) also enabled cells to grow at 46 degrees C. Cells grown at 46 degrees C in he presence of salt (protected or P cells) accumulated glutamate more rapidly than cells grown at 37 degrees C without salt (normal or N cells) and contained an increased amino acid pool. The principal constituents of this pool were dicarboxylic amino acids and proline. Turbidimetric evidence suggests that NaCl caused plasmolysis in S. aureus. The P cells, although grown in 1 M NaCl, had about the same Cl- and K+ content as the N cells grown without added NaCl. P cells had increased heat resistance but high concentrations of CaCl2 in the heating menstruum reduced their D55 value from a maximum of 214 min to less than 30 s. We suggest that growth at 46 degrees C in 1 M NaCl can be explained, in part at least, by the increased amino acid pool internal to the cell and the external osmotic support given by Cl- anions excluded by the cell.     

Energetic basis of development of salt-tolerant transport in a moderately halophilic bacterium,Vibrio costicola

Active transport of -aminoisobutyric acid (AIB) in Vibrio costicola utilizes a system with affinity for glycine, alanine and, to some extent, methionine. AIB transport was more tolerant of high salt concentrations (3–4 M NaCl) in cells grown in the presence of 1.0 M NaCl than in those grown in the presence of 0.5 M NaCl. The former cells could also maintain much higher ATP contents than the latter in high salt concentrations.Transport kinetic studies performed with bacteria grown in 1.0 M NaCl revealed three effects of the Na⁺ ion: the first effect is to increase the apparent affinity (K _t) of the transport system for AIB at Na⁺ concentrations <0.2 M, the second to increase the maximum velocity (V _max) of transport (Na⁺ concentrations between 0.2 and 1.0 M), and the third to decrease the V _max without affectig K _t (Na⁺ concentrations >1.0 M). Cells grown in the presence of 0.5 M or 1.0 M NaCl had similar affinity for AIV. Thus, the differences in salt response of transport in these cells do not seem due to differences in AIB binding. Large, transport-inhibitory concentrations of NaCl resulted in efflux of AIB from cells preloaded in 0.5 M or 1.0 M NaCl, with most dramatic efflux occurring from the cells whose AIB transport was more salt-sensitive. Our results suggest that the degree to which high salt concentrations affect the transmembrane electrochemical energy source used for transport and ATP synthesis is an important determinant of salt tolerance.Abbreviations AIB -aminoisobutyric acid - pmf proton motive force     

Correlation between immuno-gold labels and activities of the cytochrome-c oxidase (aa3-type) in membranes of salt stressed cyanobactria

Abstract Anacystis nidulans ( Synechococcus PCC6301) and Synechocystis PCC6803 were grown photoautotrophically in a turbido-statically operated chemostat at a constant cell concentration of 2.0±0.3 μ l packed cell mass per ml in the presence of elevated NaCl concentrations up to 0.5 M ('salt stress'). The impact of salt stress on ccytochrome- c oxidase (EC 1.9.3.1) was` studied on isolated and purified membranes, and by immuno-gold labeling of thin-sectioned whole cells ATPase activities of membranes isolated and separated from cells under varying salt stress were also measured. Anacystis and Synechocystis adapted to the presence of 0.5 M NaCl in the medium with lag phases of 2 days and 2 hours, respectively. Both isolated plasma and thylakoid membranes from salt adapted Synechocystis displayed 5- to 8-times enhanced cytcytochrome- c oxidase activities while in Anacystis the effect was restricted to the plasma membrane. In either case less than proportionately increased counts of immuno-gold labeled cytochrome- c oxidase molecules in the respective membranes were obtained, the additional increment being attributed to the increased lipid content of the membranes from salt-adapted cells, leading to increased specific activities of the enzyme compared to control cells. ATPase activity of plasma membranes from Synechocystis was far more increased than of those from Anacystis while in thylakoid membranes the differentiating effect was less pronounced. Our results are discussed in terms of distinct strategies for salt adaptation in the two cyanobacterial species whereby in Anacystis the plasma membrane-bound respiratory chain and in Synechocystis the plasma membrane-bound ATPase(s) play the major role for plasma membrane energization which, in turn, is necessary for the active exclusion of sodium from the cell interior.     

Effect of salinity on the lipid and fatty acid composition of the halophyteNavicula sp.: potential in mariculture

Navicula sp. (cf.N. tenelloides) was isolated from a salt marsh in Kuwait. The alga grew best with 0.5M NaCl, but abundant growth still occurred up to 2.5M NaCl. The total lipid content and the carotene to chlorophyll ratio of the cells increased with increasing salinity of the medium from 0.5 to 1.7M NaCl, but declined with 2.5M NaCl. Irrespective of the medium salinity, the major lipid class was that of triacylglycerols. The predominant fatty acids in the total lipids of cells grown at different NaCl concentrations were palmitic (16:0) and palmitoleic (16:1) acids; eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5) made up 8–9% of the total fatty acids. The fatty acid composition of the individual lipid classes of cells grown at different salinities is described. The highest concentration of 20:5 occurred in monogalactosyldiacylglycerols and digalactosyldiacylglycerols. In view of the rather small size of this diatom, its halotolerance and its fair content of 20:5, it is suggested as a potential food source for the mariculture industry.