Pigments Production, Growth Kinetics, and Bioenergetic Patterns in Dunaliella tertiolecta (Chlorophyta) in Response to Different Culture Media

Abstract

This work dealt with the study of growth parameters, pigments production, and bioenergetic aspects of the microalga Dunaliella tertiolecta in different culture media. For this purpose, cultures were carried out in Erlenmeyer flasks containing F/2 medium, Bold’s Basal medium, or an alternative medium made up of the same constituents of the Bold’s Basal medium dissolved in natural seawater instead of distilled water. D. tertiolecta reached the highest dry cell concentration (Xmax = 1223 mgDM·L−1), specific growth rate (µmax = 0.535 d−1), cell productivity (PX = 102 mgDM·L−1·d−1), and photosynthetic efficiency (PE = 14.54%) in the alternative medium, while the highest contents of carotenoids (52.0 mg·g−1) and chlorophyll (108.0 mg·g−1) in the biomass were obtained in Bold’s Basal medium. As for the bioenergetic parameters, the biomass yield on Gibbs energy dissipation was higher and comparable in both seawater-based media. However, the F/2 medium led to the highest values of moles of photons absorbed to produce 1 C-mol of biomass (nPh), total Gibbs energy absorbed by the photosynthesis (ΔGa) and released heat (Q), as well as the lowest cell concentration, thus proving to be the least suitable medium for D. tertiolecta growth. On the other hand, the highest values of molar development of O2 and consumption of H+ and H2O were obtained in the alternative medium, which also ensured the best kinetic parameters, thereby allowing for the best energy exploitation for cell growth. These results demonstrate that composition of culture medium for microalgae cultivation has different effects on pigments production, growth kinetics, and bioenergetics parameters, which should be taken into consideration for any use of biomass, including as raw material for biofuels production.

Municipal Wastewater: A Sustainable Source for the Green Microalgae Chlorella vulgaris Biomass Production

“…Furthermore, this pigment has several biotechnological applications for several industries, such as food, feed or pharmaceutical [71][72][73]. In this context, several studies have been conducted in order to optimize microalgae chlorophyll production [22,[74][75][76]. Growth media with lower nitrogen and phosphorus content have been shown to decrease chlorophyll production, while phosphorus-enriched growth media have revealed to be a chlorophyll production promoter [77,78].…”

Harnessing genetic engineering to drive economic bioproduct production in algae

“… Varshney et al (2015) have extensively documented extremophile microalgae strains and their potential for biotechnological applications ( Varshney et al, 2015 ). For instance, species within the Dunaliella genus, notably high-salt-tolerant green marine microalgae, are proficient in producing products of commercial significance, ranging from carotenoids and polysaccharides to proteins, lipids, and vitamins ( Moura et al, 2020 ). Specifically, Dunaliella tertiolecta is renowned for its lipid accumulation, suitable for biofuel production, and its synthesis of carotenoid pigments like β-Carotene, known for antioxidant, anticancer, and anti-inflammatory attributes ( Ebadi et al, 2022 ).…”

Microalgae Cultures: Environmental Tool and Bioenergy

“…Interestingly, the biochemical profile of produced biomass using the different operation regimes was not affected regarding the contents of proteins, lipids, and fatty acids. Moura et al [5] investigated Dunaliella tertiolecta growth, pigment production, and bioenergetic parameters in different culture media to select the best cultivation conditions to overproduce such added-value compounds. The authors concluded that the composition of the culture medium has different effects on pigments production, growth kinetics, and energy content, which must be considered for any application of the produced microalgal biomass.…”