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Growth kinetics and fucoxanthin production of Phaeodactylum tricornutum and Isochrysis galbana cultures at different light and agitation conditions

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Abstract

Fucoxanthin is a carotenoid that exerts multiple beneficial effects on human health. However, reports comparing microalgae culture conditions and their effect on growth and fucoxanthin production are still limited. Isochrysis galbana and Phaeodactylum tricornutum cultures in different light (62.0, 25.9, 13.5, or 9.1 μmol photons m-2 s-1), mixing conditions (1 vvm aeration or 130 rpm agitation), and media compositions (F/2 and Conway medium) were studied for comparison of cellular growth and fucoxanthin production on F/2 medium. I. galbana showed a better adaptation to tested culture conditions in comparison with P. tricornutum, reaching 2.15 × 107 ± 4.07 × 106 cells mL-1 and a specific growth rate (μ) of 1.12 ± 0.05 day-1 under aerated conditions and 62.0 μmol photons m-2 s-1 light intensity. Fucoxanthin concentration was about 25 % higher in P. tricornutum cultures under 13.5 μmol photons m-2 s-1 light intensity and aerated conditions, but the highest fucoxanthin total production was higher in I. galbana, where 3.32 mg can be obtained from 1 L batch cultures at the 16th day under these conditions. Moreover, higher cell densities (~32.41 %), fucoxanthin concentration (~42.46 %), and total production (~50.68 %) were observed in I. galbana cultures grown in Conway medium, if compared with cultures grown in F/2 medium. The results show that the best growth conditions did not result in the best fucoxanthin production for either microalgae, implying that there is not a direct relationship between cellular growth and fucoxanthin production. Moreover, the results suggest that I. galbana cultures on Conway medium are strong candidates for fucoxanthin production, where 1.2 to 15 times higher fucoxanthin concentration are observed in comparison to macroalgal sources.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the financial support of Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACyT, Grant 333554), the ITESM Research Chair (Grant CAT020), the Bioprocess and Synthetic Biology Strategic Focus Group of Tecnológico de Monterrey (0821C01004), and the Zambrano-Hellion Fund (CDB090).

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  1. Centro de Biotecnología-FEMSA, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Campus Monterrey, Ave. Eugenio Garza Sada 2501 Sur, Monterrey, NL, 64849, Mexico

    Alma Gómez-Loredo, Jorge Benavides & Marco Rito-Palomares

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  1. Alma Gómez-Loredo
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  3. Marco Rito-Palomares
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Correspondence to Marco Rito-Palomares.

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Gómez-Loredo, A., Benavides, J. & Rito-Palomares, M. Growth kinetics and fucoxanthin production of Phaeodactylum tricornutum and Isochrysis galbana cultures at different light and agitation conditions. J Appl Phycol 28, 849–860 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-015-0635-0

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