The effect of nutrient limitation and oxidative stress on bromoform production from axenic cultures of marine diatoms

• Main Author: Nguvava, Mariam
• Other Authors: Bucciarelli, Eva
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: University of Cape Town 2015
• Subjects: Oceanography
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/11053

Includes bibliographical references. === Bromoform is mainly produced naturally by marine organisms. The production by microalgae however is not well quantified, and the mechanism by which phytoplankton produce bromoform is not fully elucidated. The production of this compound at the cellular level seems to be linked to oxidative stress via the use of the antioxidant enzyme bromoperoxidase (Manley and Barbero, 2001). However, no experiment has been conducted under bacteria-free conditions, which may bias the results because bacteria produce bromoform. Diatoms, which are wide spread in the open ocean, could be amongst the most important producers of bromoform. The purpose of this study was to quantify the effect of nutrient limitation and oxidative stress on bromoform production from axenic cultures of marine diatoms.