Abstract
Spirulina subsalsa, a filamentous cyanobacterium, was first described by Gomont in 1892. This microorganism has been subject to biotechnological evaluations, due to their high content of proteins and pigments. The objective of this study was to analyze the biochemical composition of the biomass of a native strain of S. subsalsa cultivated in low-cost saline medium and harvested in the exponential and stationary phases of growth. The highest protein contents (58.5%) were obtained in the exponential phase; while the highest amounts of carbohydrates (20%), lipids (19.7%), chlorophyll (51.6 μg/ml), total carotenoids (218,215 μg/ml), exopolysaccharides (7.30 ± 0.7 mg/ml) and phycocyanin (25.8 μg/ml) were accumulated in the stationary phase. Additionally, in the biomass of S. subsalsa, the presence of saponins and polyphenols was detected in both growth phases, whereas basic alkaloids and flavonoids were detected only in the stationary phase. This article concludes information on the potential future biotechnological applications of the cyanobacterium strain, S. subsalsa. Key words: Cyanobacterium, biotechnology, Spirulina subsalsa.
Highlights
Spirulina subsalsa Oersted ex Gomont is a filamentous cyanobacteria originally described by Gomont (1892, 1893)
In Venezuela, Spirulina has been reported by Rodriguez (2001), Bernal (2002), González et al (2003) and Petrash et al (2012). This cyanobacterium forms mantles on the substrate, usually blue-green in color and has sometimes been observed to be part of the cyanobacteria blooms that cause poisoning in flamingos (Ballot et al, 2004) and shrimp (Lightner, 1978); there is no evidence that this cyanobacterium produces any cyanotoxin
It is necessary to evaluate new strains of this cyanobacterium, since it has been demonstrated that the responses of microalgae to changes in abiotic factors vary considerably from one species to another, between strains of the same species and even between clones originating from the same unialgal culture, which would be due to morphological and physiological differences, attributable to intraspecific genetic variations (Gómez and González, 2005; Guevara et al, 2016). The objective of this investigation was to analyze the biomass of a native strain of S. subsalsa cultivated in low-cost saline medium and harvested in exponential and stationary phases of growth
Summary
Spirulina subsalsa Oersted ex Gomont is a filamentous cyanobacteria originally described by Gomont (1892, 1893). This microorganism inhabits saline and fresh waters all over the world (Szulbert et al, 2018). In Venezuela, Spirulina has been reported by Rodriguez (2001), Bernal (2002), González et al (2003) and Petrash et al (2012) This cyanobacterium forms mantles on the substrate, usually blue-green in color and has sometimes been observed to be part of the cyanobacteria blooms that cause poisoning in flamingos (Ballot et al, 2004) and shrimp (Lightner, 1978); there is no evidence that this cyanobacterium produces any cyanotoxin. S. subsalsa is a source of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), which are biopolymers for construction of implants and artificial tissues (Shrivastav et al, 2010)
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