Bacterial contamination control in Chlorella sorokiniana cultivation using NVC-H antimicrobial peptide.

Authors

Denisa Zemanová, Martin Fuleky, Katarina Molnarova, Roman Guran, Martina Coufalova, Josef Houser, Tereza Matysková, Petr Urbiš, Ondrej Zitka, Vedran Milosavljevic

Published in

Bioresource technology. Pages 135960. Sep 27, 2026. Epub Sep 27, 2026.

Abstract

Microbial contamination remains a major limitation in large-scale microalgal cultivation, leading to reduced biomass productivity and process instability. In this study, synthetic antimicrobial peptide NVC-H was evaluated as a selective agent for controlling bacterial contamination in Chlorella sorokiniana cultures. The peptide exhibited antibacterial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, with strain-dependent inhibitory and bactericidal effects. At an operational concentration of 10μg mL^-1, NVC-H produced a strain-dependent reduction of 2.9-5.2 log₁₀ CFU mL^-1 after 6 h. At the same concentration, C. sorokiniana maintained approximately 86% of the untreated-control OD₇₅₀ after 72 h, with no significant impairment of growth. Physiological analyses, supported by metabolomic and proteomic profiling, revealed that peptide exposure induced moderate intracellular oxidative stress and time-dependent metabolic adaptation while maintaining overall culture performance. Observed responses included changes in central carbon metabolism, peptide-processing pathways, and stress-related processes, consistent with physiological adjustment to NVC-H exposure. Algal-bacterial co-culture experiments further demonstrated transient bacterial suppression in the presence of C. sorokiniana, providing proof-of-concept evidence for contamination control under mixed cultivation conditions. Overall, NVC-H represents a promising candidate for antimicrobial contamination control in microalgal cultivation, although its long-term efficacy, dosing requirements, economic feasibility, and scalability require further evaluation.

PMID:
42801926
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 28 Sep 2026.

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