Uptake and accumulation of exogenous docosahexaenoic acid by Chlorella.

Tuna oil or its hydrolysate was added to a culture of Chlorella for its nutritional fortification as a feed for rotifer. Exogenous docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in its free form was taken up by the cells of Chlorella vulgaris strain K-22 and by other strains, but tuna oil was not taken up by the cells. Accumulated DHA was found by electron microscopy in the cells in oil droplets. All strains of Chlorella used in these experiments took up exogenous DHA into the cells. It seems that the structure of the cell wall did not affect the uptake of DHA into the Chlorella cells.