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Chlorophyll Fluorescence Applications in Microalgal Mass Cultures

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Chlorophyll a Fluorescence in Aquatic Sciences: Methods and Applications

Abstract

Chlorophyll (Chl) fluorescence has become one of the most common and useful techniques in photosynthetic field research. Its non-invasiveness, sensitivity and the wide availability of reliable instruments, also makes it a convenient and suitable technique in microalgal biotechnology to monitor a culture’s photosynthetic performance. Experimentally, homogenous microalgal cultures in suspension have also been ideal objects in photosynthetic studies. For the purpose of this book we summarised results of experiments since the 1990s that have pioneered the practical use of Chl fluorescence methods to monitor the physiological status of fast-growing microalgal mass cultures, optimising and estimating biomass productivity or finding marker processes of certain compound synthesis.

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Acknowledgement

The authors thank Mr. Pavel Souček for preparation of diagrams and Mr. Steve Ridgill for language corrections.

The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports and the Czech Academy of Sciences supported this work through the project MSM6007665808 and AVOZ 50200510. Partial funding was also provided by project 522/06/1090 and 521/09/0656 of the Czech Science Foundation, and by project IAA608170601 of the Grant Agency of the Czech Academy of Sciences.

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Masojídek, J., Vonshak, A., Torzillo, G. (2010). Chlorophyll Fluorescence Applications in Microalgal Mass Cultures. In: Suggett, D., Prášil, O., Borowitzka, M. (eds) Chlorophyll a Fluorescence in Aquatic Sciences: Methods and Applications. Developments in Applied Phycology, vol 4. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9268-7_13

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