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A biomass production process including two stages, heterotrophy/photoinduction (TSHP), was developed to improve biomass and lutein production by the green microalgae Scenedesmus incrassatulus. To determine the effects of different nitrogen sources (yeast extract and urea) and temperature in the heterotrophic stage, experiments using shake flask cultures with glucose as the carbon source were carried out. The highest biomass productivity and specific pigment concentrations were reached using urea+vitamins (U+V) at 30°C. The first stage of the TSHP process was done in a 6L bioreactor, and the inductions in a 3L airlift photobioreactor. At the end of the heterotrophic stage, S. incrassatulus achieved the maximal biomass concentration, increasing from 7.22gL -1 to 17.98gL -1 with an increase in initial glucose concentration from 10.6gL -1 to 30.3gL -1 . However, the higher initial glucose concentration resulted in a lower specific growth rate (μ) and lower cell yield (Y x/s ), possibly due to substrate inhibition. After 24h of photoinduction, lutein content in S. incrassatulus biomass was 7 times higher than that obtained at the end of heterotrophic cultivation, and the lutein productivity was 1.6 times higher compared with autotrophic culture of this microalga. Hence, the two-stage heterotrophy/photoinduction culture is an effective strategy for high cell density and lutein production in S. incrassatulus., (Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Growing evidence suggests that some bioactive metabolites (e.g. cyanotoxins) produced by cyanobacteria have allelopathic potential, due to their inhibitory or stimulatory effects on competing species. Although a number of studies have shown that the cyanotoxin cylindrospermopsin (CYN) has variable effects on phytoplankton species, the impact of changing physicochemical conditions on its allelopathic potential is yet to be investigated. We investigated the physiological response of Microcystis aeruginosa (Cyanobacteria) and Acutodesmus acuminatus (Chlorophyta) to CYN under varying nitrogen and light conditions. At 24h, higher microcystins content of M. aeruginosa was recorded under limited light in the presence of CYN, while at 120h the lower levels of the toxins were observed in the presence of CYN under optimum light. Total MCs concentration was significantly (p<0.05) lowered by CYN after 120h of exposure under limited and optimum nitrogen conditions. On the other hand, there were no significant (p>0.05) changes in total MCs concentrations after exposure to CYN under high nitrogen conditions. As expected, limited light and limited nitrogen conditions resulted in lower cell density of both species, while CYN only significantly (p<0.05) inhibited the growth of M. aeruginosa. Regardless of the light or nitrogen condition, the presence of CYN increased internal H 2 O 2 content of both species, which resulted in significant (p<0.05) changes in antioxidant enzyme (catalase, peroxidase, superoxide dismutase and glutathione S-transferase) activities. The oxidative stress caused by CYN was higher under limited light and limited nitrogen. These results showed that M. aeruginosa and A. acuminatus have variable response to CYN under changing light and nitrogen conditions, and demonstrate that need to consider changes in physicochemical conditions during ecotoxicological and ecophysiological investigations., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The present study dealt with biomass, lipid concentration, fatty acid profile and biodiesel properties of microalga Scenedesmus abundans under different phosphate concentrations, pH and light intensities, one at a time. Among different phosphate concentrations, higher biomass (770.10±11.0mg/L) and lipid concentration (176.87±4.6mg/L) were at the concentration of 60mg/L. Light intensity at 6000lux yielded higher biomass and lipid concentration of 742.0±9.7 and 243.15±9.1mg/L, respectively. The biomass (769.0±12.3mg/L) and lipid (179.47±5.5mg/L) concentration were highest at pH 8 and pH 6, respectively. All the culture treatments showed marked effect on the fatty acid profile and biodiesel properties of the extracted oil. FAME derived biodiesel properties were compared with European biodiesel standards (EN 14214), Indian biodiesel standards (IS 15607) and American biodiesel standards (ASTM D 6751-08) to assess the suitability of algal oil as biodiesel feedstock., (Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Continuous increase in the usage of ZnO nanoparticles in commercial products has exacerbated the risk of release of these particles into the aquatic environment with possible harmful effects on the biota. In the current study, cytotoxic effects of two types of ZnO nanoparticles, having different initial effective diameters in filtered and sterilized lake water medium [487.5±2.55 nm for ZnO-1 NPs and 616.2±38.5 nm for ZnO-2 NPs] were evaluated towards a dominant freshwater algal isolate Scenedesmus obliquus in UV-C, visible and dark conditions at three exposure concentrations: 0.25, 0.5 and 1 mg/L. The toxic effects were found to be strongly dependent on the initial hydrodynamic particle size in the medium, the exposure concentrations and the irradiation conditions. The loss in viability, LDH release and ROS generation were significantly enhanced in the case of the smaller sized ZnO-1 NPs than in the case of ZnO-2 NPs under comparable test conditions. The toxicity of both types of ZnO NPs was considerably elevated under UV-C irradiation in comparison to that in dark and visible light conditions, the effects being more enhanced in case of ZnO-1 NPs. The size dependent dissolution of the ZnO NPs in the test medium and possible toxicity due to the released Zn(2+) ions was also noted. The surface adsorption of the nanoparticles was substantiated by scanning electron microscopy. The internalization/uptake of the NPs by the algal cells was confirmed by fluorescence microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and elemental analyses., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This paper evaluates the effect of the irradiance, pH and temperature on the photosynthetic activity (PA) of Scenedesmus obtusiusculus under N-replete and N-deplete conditions through oxygen measurements. The highest PA values were 160 mgO2 gb(-1) h(-1) at 620 μmol m(-2) s(-1), 35 °C and pH of 8 under N-replete conditions and 3.3 mgO2 gb(-1) h(-1) at 100 μmol m(-2) s(-1), 28.5 °C and pH of 5.5 for N-deplete conditions. Those operation conditions were tested in a flat-panel photobioreactor. The biomass productivity was 0.97 gb L(-1) d(-1) under N-replete conditions with a photosynthetic efficiency (PE) of 4.4% yielding 0.85 gb mol photon(-1). Similar biomass productivity was obtained under N-deplete condition; and the lipid productivity was 0.34 gL L(-1) d(-1) with a PE of 7.8% yielding 0.39 gL mol photon(-1). The apparent activation and deactivation energies were 16.1 and 30 kcal mol(-1), and 11.9 and 15.3 kcal mol(-1), for N-replete and N-deplete conditions, respectively., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Microalgal mixotrophic cultivation is one of the most potential ways to enhance biomass and biofuel production. In the present study, first of all ability of microalgae Scenedesmus sp. CCNM 1077 to utilize various carbon sources under mixotrophic growth condition was evaluated followed by optimization of glucose concentration and light intensity to obtain higher biomass, lipid and carbohydrate contents. Under optimized condition i.e. 4 g/L glucose and 150 μmol m(-2) s(-1) light intensity, Scenedesmus sp. CCNM 1077 produced 1.2g/L dry cell weight containing 23.62% total lipid and 42.68% carbohydrate. Addition of glucose shown nutritional stress ameliorating effects and around 70% carbohydrate and 25% total lipid content was found with only 21% reduction in dry cell weight under nitrogen starved condition. This study shows potential application of mixotrophically grown Scenedesmus sp. CCNM 1077 for bioethanol and biodiesel production feed stock., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Lutein, one of the main photosynthetic pigments, is a promising natural product with both nutritional and pharmaceutical applications. In this study, light-related strategies were applied to enhance the cell growth and lutein production of a lutein-rich microalga Scenedesmus obliquus FSP-3. The results demonstrate that using white LED resulted in better lutein production efficiency when compared to the other three monochromatic LEDs (red, blue, and green). The lutein productivity of S. obliquus FSP-3 was further improved by adjusting the type of light source and light intensity. The optimal lutein productivity of 4.08 mg/L/d was obtained when using a TL5 fluorescent lamp at a light intensity of 300 μmol/m(2)/s, and this performance is better than that reported in most related studies. Moreover, the time-course profile of lutein accumulation in the microalga shows that the maximal lutein content and productivity were obtained at the onset of nitrogen depletion., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This study reports on kinetics of the fluorescence decay in a suspension of the alga Scenedesmus quadricauda after actinic illumination. These are monitored as the variable fluorescence signal in the dark following light pulses of variable intensity and duration. The decay reflects the restoration of chlorophyll fluorescence quenching of the photosystem II (PSII) antennas and shows a polyphasic pattern which suggests the involvement of different processes. The overall quenching curve after a fluorescence-saturating pulse (SP) of 250-ms duration, commonly used in pulse amplitude modulation applications as the tool for estimating the maximal fluorescence (F m), has been termed P-O, in which P and O have the same meaning as used in the OJIP induction curve in the light. Deconvolution of this signal shows at least three distinguishable exponential phases with reciprocal rate constants of the order of 10, 10(2), and 10(3) ms. The size of the long (>10(3) ms) and moderate (~10(2) ms) lasting components relative to the complete quenching signal after an SP increases with the duration of the actinic pulse concomitantly with an increase in the reciprocal rate constants of the fast (~10 ms) and moderate quenching phases. Fluorescence responses upon single turnover flashes of 30-μs duration (STFs) given at discrete times during the P-O quenching were used as tools for identifying the quencher involved in the P-O quenching phase preceding the STF excitation. Results are difficult to interpret in terms of a single-hit two-state trapping mechanism with distinguishable quenching properties of open and closed reaction centers only. They give support for an earlier hypothesis on a double-hit three-state trapping mechanism in which the so-called semi-closed reaction centers of PSII are considered. In these trapping-competent centers the single reduced acceptor pair [PheQ A](1-), depending on the size of photoelectrochemically induced pH effects on the Q B-binding site, functions as an efficient fluorescence quencher.

In this work, a novel photobioreactor structure using optical fibers being fixed vertically to culture flow direction as inner light source was proposed to fulfill flashing light effects (FLE) of microalgae, so as to obtain high light efficiency. Three types of optical-fiber photobioreactor fulfilling FLE of microalgae, i.e. air-driven panel, pump-driven panel and stirred tank type, were proposed and a 130 L airlift panel one was practically constructed on which both cold (light profile, liquid velocity) and hot model tests were carried out. Results demonstrated that it could produce uniformed light/dark frequencies being over 10 Hz and microalgae productivity increased by 43% and 38% for Spirulina platensis and Scenedesmus dimorphus respectively, compared with the control. This suggested the structure to be a viable and promising option for future photobioreactors., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In wastewater treatment using microalgae, the effects of wavelength and wavelength mixing ratio on microalgae growth and removal of nitrogen and phosphorus were evaluated using LEDs (white light, 670nm, 450nm, and 525nm). Microalgae production rates were enhanced by a maximum of 45% with 400-700nm white light compared to that of a single wavelength. The phosphorus removal rate was as high as 90% with blue light. When red light and blue light were mixed and supplied, the microalgae production rate was about 50% higher than the rate of the culture with white light. Nitrogen and phosphorus removal rates were as high as approximately 15mg/L/day at a wavelength mixing ratio of 7 (red light):3 (blue light) and 2.1mg/L/day at a wavelength mixing ratio of 5 (red light):5 (blue light)., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Scenedesmus spp. have been reported as potential microalgal species used for the lipid production. This study investigated the effects of light intensity (at three levels: 50, 250, and 400 μmol photons m(-2) s(-1)) on the growth and lipid production of Scenedesmus sp. 11-1 under N-limited condition. Carotenoid to chlorophyll ratio was higher when algae 11-1 grew under 250 and 400 μmol photons m(-2) s(-1) than that under 50 μmol photons m(-2) s(-1), while protein contents was lower. Highest biomass yield (3.88 g L(-1)), lipid content (41.1 %), and neutral lipid content (32.9 %) were achieved when algae 11-1 grew at 400 μmol photons m(-2) s(-1). Lipid production was slight lower at 250 μmol photons m(-2) s(-1) level compared to 400 μmol photons m(-2) s(-1). The major fatty acids in the neutral lipid of 11-1 were oleic acid (43-52 %), palmitic acid (24-27 %), and linoleic acid (7-11 %). In addition, polyunsaturated fatty acids had a positive correlation with total lipid production, and monounsaturated fatty acids had a negative one.

Based on the theory that algal chlorophyll mainly absorbs red and blue light in the visual light, the effect of LED's red/blue light on the growth characteristic and lipid production of Scenedesmus sp. LX1 was studied. Under the same light intensity about 1400 lx, the specific growth rate of Scenedesmus sp. LX1 with LED (light emitting diode)'s red, blue and red-blue light are higher than that with normal white light by 15.8%, 13.2% and 18.4%, respectively. The algal density and population growth rate are also obviously higher than the ones with white light; among the three kinds of LED red/blue light, Scenedesmus sp. LX1 grows the fastest with red-blue light. On day 4.5 of cultivation, the algal density and population growth rate with LED's red-blue light is as highest as 2.7 and 3 times as that with white light, indicating the higher utilization efficiency of LED' s red/blue light and the enhancing effect on Scenedesmus sp. LX1's growth. With white light, LED's red, blue and red-blue light, the total lipid productivity of Scenedesmus sp. LX1 after 17 d of cultivation is 0.27 g x L(-1), 0.34 g x L(-1), 0.31 g x L(-1) and 0.28 g x L(-1), respectively; and the lipid content (dry weight) is 43.3%, 39.5%, 36.3% and 30.1%, respectively. Thus, with LED's red/blue light, the lipid content of Scenedesmus sp. LXI is a little lower while the growth is enhanced; however, the total lipid productivity is still relatively higher than that with white light.

Cr(VI) removal by Scenedesmus incrassatulus was characterized in a continuous culture system using a split-cylinder internal-loop airlift photobioreactor fed continuously with a synthetic effluent containing 1.0mg Cr(VI) l(-1) at dilution rate (D) of 0.3d (-1). At steady state, there was a small increase (6%) on the dry biomass (DB) concentration of Cr(VI)-treated cultures compared with the control culture. 1.0mg Cr(VI) l(-1) reduced the photosynthetic pigments content and altered the cellular morphology, the gain in dry weight was not affected. At steady state, Cr(VI) removal efficiency was 43.5+/-1.0% and Cr(VI) uptake was 1.7+/-0.1 mg Cr(VI) g(-1) DB. The system reached a specific metal removal rate of 458 microg Cr(VI) g(-1) DB d(-1), and a volumetric removal rate of 132 microg Cr(VI) l(-1) d(-1).