Development of a low cost medium for <i>Tetraselmis</i> sp. growth and biochemical profile improvement

• Main Authors: Catarina Rosado Correia, Inês Póvoa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2014-06-01
• Series: Frontiers in Marine Science
• Subjects: Aquaculture; PUFA; Microalgae mass cultivation; micronutrient; Biochemical profile; <i>Tetraselmis</i> sp.
• Online Access: http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/conf.fmars.2014.02.00049/full

In aquaculture, food quality improvement – especially microalgae – is mandatory. Despite having many applications in this industry, few genera of microalgae are actively used and exploited, mainly because of its lack of requirements, such as digestibility, size and lack of toxicity. <i>Tetraselmis</i> sp. is one of the most commonly used microalgae on aquaculture. Despite their nutritional profile, this is a highly demanding industry that requires constant improvement concerning cost production and productivity, and a biochemical profile for end usage. Improvements can be achieved through culture condition manipulation, changing, for instance, culture media’s composition. In order to achieve better biochemical profiles, productivity and lower production costs, three mediums were tested – NutriBloom [NB] (commercial medium used at Necton’s facilities), Simplex [S] (no addition of iron or any micronutrient) and Sea Mineral Solution [SMS], and <i>Tetraselmis</i>’s level of protein, carbohydrates, total lipid and PUFA’s profile were controlled at logarithmic and stationary phase, using classical techniques, according to Lowry (1951), Dubois (1956), Bligh and Dyer (1959) and Lepage & Roy (1986). SMS revealed better results than the others, achieving higher cell numbers, productivity and less duplication time. In logarithmic phase, this medium also had the higher lipid and PUFAs percentage. S medium showed higher protein content. In stationary phase, NB medium presented more proteins, lipid and sugars. S medium had better PUFAs percentage. Differences between micronutrient concentrations explain the verified variations in microalgae’s biochemical profile, developing a low-cost medium for <i>Tetraselmis</i> sp. culture.