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The effect of light on growth and agar content of Gelidium pulchellum (Gelidiaceae, Rhodophyta) in culture

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Abstract

Investigation of light conditions suitable for cultivation of Gelidium pulchellum (Turner) Kurtz was performed under controlled laboratory conditions at 20 °C and in the range of irradiance of 10–430 μmol photons m−2 s−1. Growth, measured as fresh weight increment, increased with irradiance up to 130 μmol m−2 s−1 and no significant photoinhibition was observed up to 430 μmol m−2 s−1. Maximum growth rate (10.0% day−1) was obtained at 130–240 μmol m−2 s−1 under continuous light and aeration. The effect of irradiance on agar yield and quality was assessed. Agar yield varied from 31 to 38.6% of the algal dry weight, and variation was not related to irradiance. However, the yield of agar molecules soluble at 95 °C increased with increasing irradiance. A similar trend was found for sulphate content in both series o f extracts, at 95 and 121 °C. On the contrary, the molecular weight and the degree of methylation of agar molecules in the 95 °C extracts decreased with increasing light intensity. As a consequence of the variations in sulphate content, molecular weight and molecular weight distribution, the gel strength was considerably lower at high light intensity. Starch content varied from 0.9 to 7.7% of the algal dry weight, and apparently was not related with irradiance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CIMAR and Departamento de Botânica, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, R. do Campo Alegre, 1191, 4150, Porto, Portugal Fax

    Isabel Sousa-Pinto, Susana Coelho, Ana Felga & Rui Pereira

  2. POLYtech Research Center, Area Science Park, Padriciano 99, I-34012, Trieste, Italy

    Erminio Murano

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  1. Isabel Sousa-Pinto
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  2. Erminio Murano
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  3. Susana Coelho
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  4. Ana Felga
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  5. Rui Pereira
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Sousa-Pinto, I., Murano, E., Coelho, S. et al. The effect of light on growth and agar content of Gelidium pulchellum (Gelidiaceae, Rhodophyta) in culture. Hydrobiologia 398, 329–338 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1017002516473

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