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The Effect of Naphthalene-Acetic Acid on Biomass Productivity and Chlorophyll Content of Green Algae, Coccolithophore, Diatom, and Cyanobacterium Cultures

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Abstract

The application of biochemical stimulants to enhance biomass and metabolite productivity is being investigated here and may be a simpler approach to achieve our goals of higher productivity and lower costs than methods such as genetic modification. The research builds on prior work of screening various biochemical stimulants representing different types of plant growth regulators with the green alga, Chlorella sorokiniana. Here, we report the impact on biomass and chlorophyll productivity by comparing the delivery method of a previously identified superior stimulant, the synthetic auxin naphthalene-acetic acid (NAA), solubilized in ethanol or methanol. Algae evaluated included the green alga, C. sorokiniana, as well as a mixed consortium that includes C. sorokiniana along with two other wild-isolated green algae, Scenedesmus bijuga and Chlorella minutissima. It was found that NAA dissolved in ethanol was more effective in enhancing biomass productivity of C. sorokiniana. However, no differences were observed with the mixed consortia. The most effective treatment from this step, EtOH500ppm + NAA5ppm, along with two other NAA concentrations (EtOH500ppm + NAA2.5ppm and EtOH500ppm + NAA10ppm), was then applied to six diverse species of microalgae to determine if the treatment dosage was effective for other freshwater and marine green algae, cyanobacteria, coccolithophore, and diatoms. It was found that three of the species bioassayed, Pleurochrysis carterae, C. sorokiniana, and Haematococcus pluvialis exhibited a substantial boost in biomass productivity over the 10-day growth period. The use of ethanol and NAA at a combined dosage of EtOH500ppm + NAA5ppm was found to generate the highest biomass productivity for each of the species that responded positively to the treatments. If scalable, NAA and ethanol may have the potential to lower production costs by increasing biomass yields for commercial microalgae cultivation.

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the support of the US Department of Energy and State of Georgia that funded this project as part of the Biorefining and Carbon Cycling research program.

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  1. Biorefinery and Carbon Cycling Program, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA

    Ryan W. Hunt, Senthil Chinnasamy & K. C. Das

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  1. Ryan W. Hunt
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  2. Senthil Chinnasamy
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  3. K. C. Das
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Correspondence to K. C. Das.

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Hunt, R.W., Chinnasamy, S. & Das, K.C. The Effect of Naphthalene-Acetic Acid on Biomass Productivity and Chlorophyll Content of Green Algae, Coccolithophore, Diatom, and Cyanobacterium Cultures. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 164, 1350–1365 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-011-9217-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-011-9217-z

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