Abstract
The axenic strain BOT-22 (race B) of Botryococcus braunii was investigated for the influence of iron and glucose on its morphology to reveal the relationship with growth and oil production. The average size of the iron-rich cells was larger than that of iron-limited cells. The shapes of iron-rich cells were elliptical and that of iron-limited cells were conical. Several cells were tightly connected to form large colonies in the iron-rich culture; however, only a few cells were sparsely arranged to form the small colonies in the iron-limited culture. Glucose addition to the iron-rich culture further increased the size of the cells and colonies. The growth increased in the following order: iron-limited, iron-rich, and iron-rich with glucose cultures. The same was observed for the volume of hydrocarbons in iron-rich cultures. It was also speculated that the shapes of cells and the amount of extracellular oil are most likely related to colony size and form.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Prof. Kunimitsu Kaya of the University of Tsukuba, Japan, for providing data on the analysis of hydrocarbons in strain BOT-22. This work was financially supported by the Core Research of Evolutional Science & Technology program from the Japan Science and Technology Agency.
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Tanoi, T., Kawachi, M. & Watanabe, M.M. Iron and glucose effects on the morphology of Botryococcus braunii with assumption on the colony formation variability. J Appl Phycol 26, 1–8 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-013-0026-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-013-0026-3