Paper Title
Evaluation of Oleaginous Potential of Nostoc sp. Isolated from Bidoli Reservoir, Rajasthan

Abstract
Development of renewable energy as biodiesel has shown its potential for commercial applications and thus has paved the path for a phased replacement of non-renewable fossil fuels. But the future growth and commercialization of this sustainable technology is dependent on the lipid source to be transesterified to biodiesel. Three generations of lipid producers have been identified of which, microalgae possess the maximum advantage with respect to cultivation, harvesting, scalability and continuous supply. Cyanobacterial strains have been identified as potential lipid producers. In the current study, a fresh water Nostoc strain isolated from Bidoli reservoir, identified as a potential oleaginous strain. Production studies show that the lipid yield was amenable to enhancement with higher yield under phototrophic conditions. Phosphate concentration (0.4 g L-1) and yeast (1 g L-1) supported lipid production resulting in 1.5 fold increase. Biomass and lipid were found to be positively correlated while chlorophyll was also affirmatively correlated. Lipid characterization showed that it belongs to the class of neutral lipid due to strong fluorescence with Nile red. Thus, the strain exhibits strong potential for future investigations as a lipid source. Keywords - Microalgae, FTIR, Nile Red Staining, Chlorophyll Content.