The chemodiversity of polar lipidomes of microalgae from different taxa

Polar lipids from microalgae are attracting an increasing interest due to their structural diversity, high value, and beneficial health effects. However, the relationship between lipid composition and biological diversity, as well as the potential applications of high-value microalgae lipids need to be further explored. In this study, we characterized and compared the polar lipidome of a taxonomically diverse set of 7 species of microalgae belonging to the phyla Chlorophyta (Chlorella vulgaris, Scnedesmus obliquus, Tetraselmis chuii, Chlorococcum amblystomatis), Ochrophya (Nannochloropsis oceanica, Phaeodactylum tricornutum) and Cyanobacteria (Spirulina sp.), using high-resolution LC-MS analysis, to assess the chemotaxonomic specificity of polar lipids. 498 different species of polar lipids have been identified, including 109 common to all microalgae. Each microalga had a species-specific polar lipid signature, with the majority differing by >20 % of the others, allowing for possible distinction at lower taxonomic levels. Phospholipids and betaine lipids were the lipid species that contributed the most to discrimination between species of microalgae. The specificity of the lipidome of microalgae favours the use of selected microalgae as bio-factories of specific lipids with high added value with a multitude of biological, sustainable, and ecological applications.