Practical 1: Microalgae Culture Medium

Introduction

Microalgae or microphytes are actually the algae but in micro size that do not have roots or leaves. They can live in either freshwater or seawater depending on the species. They are unicellular species. As a species of algae, they are the primary producers that supply oxygen and food. Beside that, microalgae are a source of a wide variety of nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids, and are a particularly large source of protein. In the wild,  they are eaten by mollusc, crustaceans and fish fry. Microalgae source of food are from minerals such as nitrates and phosphate. For example, some microalgae are Spirulina, chlorella, and blue-green algae, given to us (human) as nutrient supplement. Currently, there are findings prove that microalgae can be used to solve pollution problems, cleaning waste water while producing important goods for society. Therefore, preparing a suitable medium will allow us to better understand our selected microalgae species.

Objective

To learn how to use different equipment to sample the microalgae

To learn the optimum abiotic factors for microalgae to survive

To be able to prepare suitable algae agar medium

Material and Method

Different microalgal sampling equipments :

Basic Apparatus:

• ·         250ml conical flask
• ·         500ml Beaker
• ·         Mixer
• ·         pH meter
• ·         Magnetic stirrer

Materials:

Bold's Basal Medium (BB)

f/2 Medium

f/2 + Si (Guillard's medium for diatoms)

Provasoli Enriched Seawater Media (PES)

Von Stoch Enrichment (VSE)

Macrophyte Medium Culture : Murashige and Skong (MS) Media 

Discussion

Each culture medium is specially formulated to best suit a group of microalgae for instance, f/2 is made for various microalgae while f/2+silicate is made for Bacillariophyta as they require silica to incorporate their cilica cell wall. While Bold Basal's Medium is one of the commonly used medium for freshwater macrophytes. Other mediums such as PES, VSE and MS are formulated for saltwater microalgae.

Conclusion

Various medium is used to best satisfy the growth of both freshwater and saltwater flora. The selection of a culture medium greatly depends on the type of nutrient required for a specific species of microalgae. The various agar mediums are also able to inhibit the growth of unwanted microalgae such as f/2 has no silica which does not promote the growth of diatoms. Therefore, it is best to study the nutrient requirement of each microalgae species when electing an agar medium.