Premium
Heterotrophic growth and nitrogen fixation in the filamentous blue‐green alga Anabaena sp.
Author(s) -
Sahu Jayanti,
Adhikary S. P.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
zeitschrift für allgemeine mikrobiologie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.58
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1521-4028
pISSN - 0044-2208
DOI - 10.1002/jobm.19810210906
Subject(s) - heterotroph , nitrogen fixation , botany , phycoerythrin , phycobiliprotein , xylose , biology , nitrogen , food science , chemistry , cyanobacteria , bacteria , organic chemistry , fermentation , genetics , flow cytometry
Experiments were conducted to study the effect of five different organic substrates viz. lactose, fructose, mannose, xylose and sodium acetate on the heterotrophic growth characteristics with emphasis on growth, pigment composition, heterocyst frequency and nitrogen fixation of Anabaena the. under light and dark conditions. Lactose was found to be the best carbon source to support the heterotrophic growth of the alga. Phycoerythrin pigments were synthesized in photoheterotrophic cultures but pigment production was not observed in dark‐grown cultures. The alga fixed nitrogen to a limited extent in the dark in pure inorganic medium. But when suitable organic substrates were supplemented, appreciable nitrogen fixation was observed in dark heterotrophic as well as in photoheterotrophic cultures.