Phytohormone production and morphology of Spirulina platensis grown in dairy wastewaters

Daniela Zapata, Catalina Arroyave*, Lorena Cardona, Adriana Aristizábal, Charlotte Poschenrieder, Mercè Llugany

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

43 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Microalgae cultivation in dairy wastewaters is of major interest for nutrient removal and sustainable microalgal biomass production. This biomass is a profitable raw material to produce biofertilizers and biocompounds for use in agriculture and food and pharmaceutical industries. This study aimed to compare biomass production, morphology, and phytohormone levels in Spirulina platensis (UTEX LB1926) grown on dairy wastewaters, in comparison to Zarrouk medium. An extraction method from lyophilized biomass was developed to detect and quantify the endogenous phytohormones Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), Phenylacetic acid (PAA), Salicylic acid (SA), Jasmonic acid (JA), Abscisic acid (ABA), Gibberellin A1 (GA1), Gibberellin A4 (GA4), Indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), 1-Aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC), 6-Benzylaminopurine (BAP), and Kinetin (KA) in S. platensis, cultivated in dairy wastewater and cheese whey, from a local dairy industry. Phytohormones were generally higher in S. platensis cultivated in dairy wastewaters than in a synthetic medium. The concentrations of phytohormones widely varied with the culture medium and the lighting conditions. Low light intensity significantly promoted the filaments of S. platensis to grow longer and thicker in wastewater, especially in cheese whey, enhancing biomass harvest. The cultivation of S. platensis in dairy wastewaters allows the production of both biomass and phytohormones, at low cost, while treating these waters.

Original languageEnglish
Article number102469
JournalAlgal Research
Volume59
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Nov 2021

Keywords

  • Cyanobacteria
  • Microalgae biofertilizers
  • Microalgal bioproducts
  • Process circularity.
  • Wastewater treatment

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