Effect of a number of nutrients on some physiological activities of a local isolate of Scenedesmus sp.

Abstract

In the present study, an isolate of the alga Scenedesmus sp. was obtained from local environment in Mosul city. The effect of some nutrients (monohydrogen potassium phosphate, sodium carbonate, ferrous chloride, calcium nitrate) on growth, biomass production, chlorophyll content and protein content was studied. It was noticed that the best concentration of monohydrogen potassium phosphate was (0.005%) which supported best growth (0.975) as an optical density, biomass (2.6 g/L), chlorophyll and protein content were (745 , 70 mg/L) respectively. The results also showed that when sodium carbonate was used at concentration (0.02%), the growth rate reached (1.40) as optical density, weight of biomass (1.0 g/L), but the highest value of chlorophyll content was (360 mg/L) when the concentration of carbon was (0.01%). The protein content reached to (180 mg/L) when the concentration of carbon was (0.03%). This study also revealed that Iron from ferric chloride at concentration (0.006%) supported best growth (1.99) as optical density, while biomass (2.4 g/L), but the highest chlorophyll content was (164 mg/L) at the concentration of ferric chloride (0.001%) and the best protein content was (154 mg/L) at (0.005%) of ferric chloride. Nitrogen as calcium nitrate at (0.13%) supported best growth rate (0.960) as optical density, value of biomass (1.5 g/L), chlorophyll content (911 mg/L), but the best protein content was (154 mg/L) when the nitrogen concentration was (0.01%) from calcium nitrate. This study also showed that final pH increased significantly from initial pH after fifteen dayes of incubation for all experiments used in this study.