Isolation of herbicide-resistant mutants of Botryococcus braunii.

Aiming at herbicide-assisted cultivation of Botryococcus braunii for prevention of algal contamination, herbicide-tolerant mutant lines of B. braunii were established for two widely used herbicides, methyl viologen and glufosinate. Some established mutant lines exhibited vigorous oil production and growth in herbicide-containing media. Because the two herbicides were effective in controlling the growth of the algal competitors of B. braunii, these mutants can be directly used in industrial attempts for cost-effective oil production in herbicide-assisted non-axenic systems. This is the first report of mutagenesis of B. braunii.