Cotton Bed Promotes Faster Growth and Higher Biomass Production of Mat-Forming Cyanobacterium <i>Oscillatoria</i> sp.

Abstract

The high biomass is the fundamental requisite for harnessing the commercial potentials of cyanobacteria. The present study demonstrates the faster production of high biomass of Oscillatoria sp. in the open-tray culture system. Oscillatoria sp. requires a suitable surface for forming its mat; therefore, initially, we have screened cotton, rice husk, gravels, and mud as supporting beds for the quicker growth of the Oscillatoria sp. Based on the expansion rate, the development of the Oscillatoria mat was the fastest on the cotton bed. Based on the result, the Oscillatoria mat grown on the cotton bed was superior in thickness, biomass quantity, and ability to produce phycocyanin to the naturally growing Oscillatoria mat. The Oscillatoria mat on the cotton bed was approximately 57.0% thicker than the naturally growing mat of Oscillatoria sp. Similarly, the Oscillatorial mat on the cotton bed generates almost double biomass and 15.0% higher phycocyanin content than that of the naturally growing mat of Oscillatoria sp. Finally, we compared four different harvesting methods, e. g. wiping, squeezing, centrifugation and vortexing with centrifugation for their efficiency to harvest the Oscillatoria biomass generated on the cotton bed. These four methods harvested more than 85.0% of the biomass of Osciallatoria sp., with more than 96.0% harvesting efficiency wiping was recorded as the most efficient harvesting method followed by vortexing and centrifugation with approximately 94.0% harvesting efficiency. The present findings suggest using the cotton bed as a supporting surface for the quick generation of a high volume of biomass of Oscillatoria sp. in the open culture system.