Phycobiliprotein production by a novel cold desert cyanobacterium Nodularia sphaerocarpa PUPCCC 420.1

Abstract

The present study focuses on finding a good source of phycobiliproteins (PBP). We report a new cyanobacterium Nodularia sphaerocarpa PUPCCC 420.1 as a good producer of PBP. The organism produced 445.6 μg PBP mg−1 dry biomass. The growth and PBP production of organism were optimized by varying pH of growth medium, nitrogen sources, light quality and sugars. The optimized conditions for PBP production were as follows: pH 8.0, 5 mmol L−1 KNO3, 10 mmol L−1 NaNO2, 0.5% sucrose and green light. The PBP production under these conditions ranged from 486 to 676.3 μg mg−1 dry biomass. The PBP were more stable when stored in alkaline pH at 4 °C under dark. As per survey of literature, except for Anabaena fertilissima, the amount of PBP is significantly higher than the amount of PBP produced by other cyanobacteria. Thus, this organism is a good candidate for the PBP production at commercial level.