Chlorella is a type of algae that packs a big nutrient punch, as it's a good source of several vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. In fact, emerging research shows that it could help shuttle toxins out of your body and improve cholesterol and blood sugar levels, among other health benefits.

Chlorella (green algae; Chlorophyta) is a cosmopolitan genus with small globular cells. It includes strains with a high temperature tolerance since some strains can grow between 15 and 40 °C. Chlorella strains grow autotrophically in an inorganic medium as well as in mixotrophic and heterotrophic conditions (e.g., with addition of acetic acid and glucose). At present, autotrophic production of Chlorella is carried out in open ponds, semiclosed tubular photobio-reactors, or inclined cascades, since its high growth rate prevents contamination by other microalgae (e.g., in Japan, Czech Republic, and Germany). Processing of Chlorella cells requires effective centrifugation and mechanical disintegration of the cellulose cell wall.

These findings raise the question to which amount these morphological forms represent ‘only’ phenotypical adaptations to ecosystem conditions such as grazing pressure and buoyant life strategy in phytoplankton? Ecophysiological experiments with Micractinium have exhibited a wide range of morphological flexibility. In dense cultures this algae produces solitary ‘green spheres,’ which exactly fit to the Chlorella phenotype. However, under grazing pressure and transferred medium from Brachionus cultures, Micractinium produced strong bristles. This approach of combination of morphological, onthogenetical, ecophysiological with phylogenetic considerations provides a wide and interesting scope of limnological and phycological activity to elucidate the interaction of structure and function in freshwater ecosystems.

Each symbiotic Chlorella species of Paramecium bursaria is enclosed in a Perialgal Vacuole (PV) membrane derived from the host Digestive Vacuole (DV) membrane. Algae-free paramecia and symbiotic algae are capable of growing independently and paramecia can be re-infected experimentally by mixing them. This phenomenon provides an excellent model for studying cell-to-cell interaction and the evolution of eukaryotic cells through secondary endosymbiosis between different protists. However, the detailed algal infection process remains unclear. Using pulse labelling of the algae-free paramecia with the isolated symbiotic algae and chase method, we found four necessary cytological events for establishing endosymbiosis. At about 3 min after mixing, some algae show resistance to the host lysosomal enzymes in the DVs, even if the digested ones are present. At about 30 min after mixing, the alga starts to escape from the DVs as the result of the budding of the DV membrane into the cytoplasm.

Furthermore, it is sometimes impossible to know which organism was actually used in these studies as insufficient information is provided to know whether they actually are a Chlorella species or another green alga. However, on-going research does support a few of these claims, even if the mode of action remains unresolved. The issue of bioactivity studies using commercial products is further complicated by the variety of “Chlorella” species cultured, different culture methodologies being used, the purity of the product produced, and the variety of processing methods used to produce the final product. Any one of these factors can have an effect on the biochemical composition of the alga and thus its potential bioactivity.

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Mary Wilson,

Associate Managing Editor,

Medical Microbiology & Diagnosis

E-mail: microbiology@jpeerreview.com