{
  "abstract": "Background: Nitrogen availability strongly regulates growth and biochemical accumulation in marine diatoms, but the magnitude and direction of these responses are strain-specific. Optimizing nitrate supply may therefore provide a practical approach for improving biomass production and the accumulation of high-value metabolites in diatoms.\n\nMethods: The effects of four sodium nitrate (NaNO₃) concentrations (0, 75, 150, and 300 mg L ⁻¹ ) on growth, biomass accumulation, total carotenoid concentration, fucoxanthin production, and fatty acid composition were investigated in the marine diatom Nitzschia sp. The standard f/2 nitrate concentration (75 mg L ⁻¹ NaNO₃) was used as the reference treatment, while 0, 150, and 300 mg L ⁻¹ represented nitrogen starvation, two-fold nitrate enrichment, and four-fold nitrate enrichment, respectively. Growth, biomass, carotenoid, and fucoxanthin parameters were monitored during 12 days of cultivation, and fatty acid composition was determined at the end of the cultivation period.\n\nResults: Nitrate availability strongly affected growth and biochemical accumulation. The highest cell density (2.7 × 10⁶ cells mL ⁻¹ on day 9) and biomass productivity (0.068 ± 0.027 g L ⁻¹ d ⁻¹ on day 6) were obtained under 300 mg L ⁻¹ NaNO₃. Total carotenoid concentration reached its maximum of 2.08 mg L ⁻¹ on day 9 under 150 mg L ⁻¹ NaNO₃. Fucoxanthin content reached its highest value of 8.42 mg g ⁻¹ DW under 300 mg L ⁻¹ NaNO₃ on day 3, accompanied by the highest fucoxanthin productivity (0.689 ± 0.175 mg L ⁻¹ d ⁻¹ ). After 12 days, the highest total identified fatty acid content was obtained under 150 mg L ⁻¹ NaNO₃ (179.39 mg g ⁻¹ DW). EPA and DHA yields also reached their maximum values under 150 mg L ⁻¹ NaNO₃, at 25.12 and 3.52 mg g ⁻¹ DW, respectively.\n\nConclusion: Nitrate concentration differentially affected biomass production and biochemical accumulation in Nitzschia sp. A high nitrate supply of 300 mg L ⁻¹ NaNO₃ favored biomass accumulation and early fucoxanthin production, whereas 150 mg L ⁻¹ NaNO₃ favored total identified fatty acid accumulation and EPA/DHA yields. These findings demonstrate that nitrate supply should be optimized according to the target product and provide strain-specific baseline information for further optimization of high-value compound production in Nitzschia sp.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "College of Fisheries, Guangdong Ocean University",
    "Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Aquatic Animal Disease Control and Healthy Culture"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 8,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "David Kwame Amenorfenyo"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Wenquan Zheng"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Junhao Huang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Ke Peng"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Hui Guo"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Qianru Li"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Feng Li"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Yuewen Deng"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/4gng8wpskdxhe.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3389/fpls.2026.1936445",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13713738",
  "id": "4gng8wpskdxhe",
  "issns": [
    "1664-462X"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2026.1936445/full",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Original Research"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2105|Algal biology and biofuel production"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7221748101",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2026.1936445/pdf",
  "pmcid": "PMC13713738",
  "pmid": "42953046",
  "published": "2026-10-14",
  "publisher": "Frontiers Media SA",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/4gng8wpskdxhe.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:19:25Z",
      "native_id": "10.3389/fpls.2026.1936445",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2026.1936445/full"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-31T00:20:41Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42953046",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42953046"
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    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-31T12:24:14Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13713738",
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    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "issn:1664-462X",
      "subfield": "plant-biology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Effects of nitrogen concentration on growth, fucoxanthin production, and fatty acid composition of the marine diatom Nitzschia sp",
  "title_text": "Effects of nitrogen concentration on growth, fucoxanthin production, and fatty acid composition of the marine diatom Nitzschia sp",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-01T12:21:21Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/4gng8wpskdxhe",
  "venue": "Frontiers in Plant Science",
  "versions": []
}