Investigating the effects of phytohormones on growth and beta-carotene production in a naturally isolates stain of Dunaliella salina

Pegah Mousavi,Nima Montazeri-Najafabady,Younes Ghasemi,Ali Niazi,Mehrdad Hamidi,Mohammad Morowvat,Abdolali Mohagheghzadeh,Zohreh Abolhassanzadeh

doi:10.7324/japs.2016.60826

Abstract

The algae of the genus Dunaliella especially D. salina is among the microalgae most studied for mass culture. This alga is the richest algal source of glycerol and β-carotene, which is grown as a food source in aquaculture. In this study the effect of growth regulators (kinetin, gibberellic acid, indole-3-acetic acid, 6γ, γ-dimethylallyl aminopurine, salicylic acid and benzyl aminopurine) on the growth and β-carotene production in D. salina (MCCS 001) was investigated. Results pointed out that the β-carotene content and cell growth of D. salina could achieve the highest rates when kinetin and indole-3-acetic acid were used at 1 �M. Besides, it was shown that almost all of plant hormones has a positive effect on cell growth and β-carotene production in the microalga D. salina.

Highlights

Algae constitute a vast part of many ecosystems such as sea, fresh water, desert sands, and snowy or icy regions
The amount of plant hormones has been identified in numerous higher order plants, and these diverse forms have been associated to different growth and developmental processes
As to our best knowledge, this study investigates the effect of plant growth regulators on the growth and production of β-carotene in D. salina

Summary

Introduction

Algae constitute a vast part of many ecosystems such as sea, fresh water, desert sands, and snowy or icy regions. They provide more than 50% of total initiatory productivity at the base of world food chain (Ghasemi et al, 2011a). The algae of the genus Dunaliella especially D. salina and D. tertiolecta are among the microalgae most studied for mass culture. Dunaliella spp. are grown as a food source in aquaculture and D. salina is the richest algal source of glycerol and β-carotene. The halo-tolerant microalgae Dunaliella salina, produces the highest concentrations of β-carotene, obtaining levels of up to 100 gKg-1 on dry weight basis (Ben-Amotz et al, 1988)

Methods

Results

Conclusion