Investigation of the Gracilaria gracilis proteome response to nitrogen limitation

• Main Author: Naidoo, René Kathleen
• Other Authors: Coyne, Vernon
• Format: Doctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: University of Cape Town 2015
• Subjects: Molecular and Cell Biology
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13095

Includes bibliographical references. === In the past, commercial quantities of G. gracilis were harvested from Saldanha Bay until population collapses of the natural resource necessitated the need for research into alternative aquaculture programs for G. gracilis cultivation. One of the reasons for the G. gracilis population collapse was attributed to adverse conditions during summer which led to thermal stratification of the water column and subsequent nutrient limiting conditions. Inorganic nitrogen has been identified as the major nutrient factor limiting growth and production of G. gracilis populations in South Africa. Although the physiological mechanisms implemented by G. gracilis which allow adaption to low nitrogen environments have been investigated, not much is known about the molecular mechanisms which underlie these adaptions. Thus, it is necessary to elucidate the molecular basis of these adaptions in G. gracilis to complement the existing physiological data.