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Production of Spirulina biomass: Maintenance of monoalgal culture outdoors
Author(s) -
Vonshak A.,
Boussiba S.,
Abeliovich A.,
Richmond A.
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
biotechnology and bioengineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.136
H-Index - 189
eISSN - 1097-0290
pISSN - 0006-3592
DOI - 10.1002/bit.260250204
Subject(s) - spirulina (dietary supplement) , monoculture , chlorella , sodium bicarbonate , dominance (genetics) , population , algae , biology , biomass (ecology) , botany , zoology , cyanobacteria , food science , chemistry , ecology , biochemistry , raw material , demography , sociology , gene , genetics , bacteria
The effects of sodium bicarbonate concentration, population density, and temperature on the maintenance of an outdoor monoculture of the cyanobacterium Spirulina platensis were studied. A clear response by Spirulina to the concentration of bicarbonate was evident, with 0.2 M bicarbonate representing the lowest concentration in which a monoculture could be maintained. When the temperatures fell during the winter period to some 20–25°C below the optimum for Spirulina , Chlorella sp. gradually increased and became the dominant species in the culture. Raising the temperature by covering the pond with transparent polyethylene resulted in a sharp decline in the population of Chlorella , and a gradual resumption of species dominance by Spirulina . In winter, there was an inverse relationship in the pond between the population density of Spirulina and the extent of contamination by Chlorella sp.; but no such effect was observed under field conditions at temperatures higher than 25°C.