Chlorella sorokiniana

Chlorella sorokiniana is a freshwater green microalga with a characteristic emerald-green color and pleasant grass odor. Its cell division rate is quite fast and divides into four new cells every 17 to 24 hours. The algae was found by a Dutch microbiologist Martinus W. Beijerinck in 1890. In 1951, the Rockfellar Foundation in collaboration with the Japanese Government and Dr. Hiroshi Tamiya developed the technology to grow, harvest and process Chlorella sorokiniana on a large, economically-feasible scale. This microalgae has also been used extensively as a model system to study enzymes involved in higher plant metabolism. Also, Chlorella sorokiniana is used to research a way to improve biofuel efficiency.