A brief period of darkness induces changes in fatty acid biosynthesis towards accumulation of saturated fatty acids in Chlorella vulgaris UMT-M1 at stationary growth phase.

Objective: The effects of a brief (3 days) and prolonged (6 days) period of incubation in darkness and light on the biomass content, lipid content and fatty acid profile in Chlorella vulgaris UMT-M1 were determined.

Results: Three days of incubation in darkness increased saturated fatty acid (SFA) content from 34.0 to 41.