Open AccessEffect of limitation of iron and manganese on microalgae growth in fresh water
Author(s) -
Junxia Liu,
Kaiting Tan,
Linjuan He,
Yongting Qiu,
Wanling Tan,
Yan Guo,
Zhihong Wang,
Wen Sun
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.019
H-Index - 179
eISSN - 1465-2080
pISSN - 1350-0872
DOI - 10.1099/mic.0.000735
Subject(s) - manganese , chemistry , environmental chemistry , biology , organic chemistry
Eutrophication is caused by the rapid growth of microalgae. Iron and manganese are important micronutrients for microalgae growth. However, the effect of the limitation of iron and manganese on microalgae growth in fresh water has not been well understood. In this study, natural mixed algae, Anabaena flosaquae and Scenedesmus quadricanda, were cultivated under different quotas of iron and manganese to reveal the effect of the limitation of iron and manganese on the growth of microalgae in fresh water. The results showed that the growth rate of algae is influenced more by iron than by manganese. However, the effect of manganese cannot be overlooked: when the initial manganese quota was replete, i.e. 0.6-0.8 mg l -1 , manganese was able to relieve the effect of iron limitation on microalgae growth in fresh water. We further found that the microalgae showed an uptake preference for iron over manganese. Iron had a competitive effect on manganese uptake, while manganese had less impact on iron uptake by microalgae. The information obtained in the current study is useful for the provision of water quality warnings and for the control of microalgae bloom in fresh water.