Cotton Bed Promotes Faster Growth and Higher Biomass Production of Mat-Forming Cyanobacterium <i>Oscillatoria</i> sp.

Abstract

The high biomass is the fundamental requisite for harnessing the commercial potentials of cyanobacteria. The present study demonstrates the faster production of high biomass of <i>Oscillatoria</i> sp. in the open-tray culture system. <i>Oscillatoria</i> sp. requires a suitable surface for forming its mat; therefore, initially, we have screened cotton, rice husk, gravels, and mud as supporting beds for the quicker growth of the <i>Oscillatoria</i> sp. Based on the expansion rate, the development of the <i>Oscillatoria</i> mat was the fastest on the cotton bed. Based on the result, the <i>Oscillatoria</i> mat grown on the cotton bed was superior in thickness, biomass quantity, and ability to produce phycocyanin to the naturally growing <i>Oscillatoria</i> mat. The <i>Oscillatoria</i> mat on the cotton bed was approximately 57.0% thicker than the naturally growing mat of <i>Oscillatoria</i> sp. Similarly, the Oscillatorial mat on the cotton bed generates almost double biomass and 15.0% higher phycocyanin content than that of the naturally growing mat of <i>Oscillatoria</i> sp. Finally, we compared four different harvesting methods, e. g. wiping, squeezing, centrifugation and vortexing with centrifugation for their efficiency to harvest the <i>Oscillatoria</i> biomass generated on the cotton bed. These four methods harvested more than 85.0% of the biomass of <i>Osciallatoria</i> sp., with more than 96.0% harvesting efficiency wiping was recorded as the most efficient harvesting method followed by vortexing and centrifugation with approximately 94.0% harvesting efficiency. The present findings suggest using the cotton bed as a supporting surface for the quick generation of a high volume of biomass of <i>Oscillatoria</i> sp. in the open culture system.