Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2022) 11(06): 266-269 266 Original Research Article https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2022.1106.029 Algal Strain Improvement by Chemical Mutagenesis of Microalga AMS16 A Strain of Thraustochytrid Alga Schizochytrium limacinum Sailendra Bhaskar 1, 2* , Krishnan Kathiravan 1 and Sachitra Kumar Ratha 2 1 Department of Biotechnology, University of Madras, Guindy Campus, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India 2 Department of Biotechnology, Aban Infrastructure Private Limited, Chennai - 600 008, Tamil Nadu, India *Corresponding author ABSTRACT Introduction Random mutagenesis has been a tool used by plant scientists worldwide for several decades to create and isolate mutated strains of plants that yield higher or are adapted to specific environments better than the non-mutated parent strains. It is common knowledge that many varieties of pulses and grains grown across the world were developed from mutated strains however few if any attempts have been made to mutate algae to obtain improved strains of algae that may yield higher biomass or specific biomolecules of interest to pharmaceutical or nutraceutical industries. Chaturvedi et al., used EMS (Ethyl MethaneSulfonate) to generate mutant microalgae. While their experiments and screening International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 11 Number 06 (2022) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com Random mutagenesis has for long been used as a tool to genetically modify organisms for various purposes, such as increasing biomass yield or yield of specific biomolecules or improved adaptation to cultivation conditions. Random mutagenesis is especially attractive for systems where it is not obvious which genes require modification and has been extensively used to beneficially modify crop plants. However, even with the renewed interest in microalgae for biofuel applications, there is relatively little current research available on the application of random mutagenesis in microalgae. In this research project we used the chemical mutagen NTG - N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine in the medium that the thraustochytrid alga Schizochytrium limacinum was grown and algae that survived the mutagenesis were cultured and analysed for lipid production. One mutagenic strain of the alga was found to grow well and produced 30% more lipid than the control which was not exposed to NTG. This proves that random mutagenesis can be an important tool in the hands of algal scientists who are looking to improve productivity of biomolecules in specific algae. Keywords Nutraceutical industries, biomolecules, non- mutated parent strains, mutate algae Received: 12 May 2022 Accepted: 31 May 2022 Available Online: 10 June 2022 Article Info