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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Mar. Sci.
Sec. Marine Biotechnology and Bioproducts
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmars.2024.1410877
This article is part of the Research Topic

13th Asia-Pacific Marine Biotechnology Conference (13th APMBC) and 5th Australia New Zealand Marine Biotechnology Society Conference (5th ANZMBS)

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Effect of photoperiod and temperature on bioproduct production from juvenile sporophytes of Macrocystis pyrifera Provisionally Accepted

Diane Purcell1* Thomas T. Wheeler2 Maria Hayes3 Mike A. Packer4
  • 1National Collections and Marine Infrastructure, CSIRO, Australia
  • 2Cawthron Institute, New Zealand
  • 3Teagasc Food Research Centre (Ireland), Ireland
  • 4Algavive Limited, New Zealand

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The giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera (Linnaeus) C. Agardh, 1820) is a habitat-forming brown seaweed in temperate systems with an unexplored potential as a source of seaweed bioproducts. This study used M. pyrifera sporophytes sourced in Tasmania, Australia, to investigate the effect of photoperiod and temperature on growth rates and the nutritional characteristics of the resulting juvenile biomass. Four cultivation treatments combined growth temperatures of 12 ºC, 15 ºC 18 ºC with light:dark (L:D) of 12:12 and 16:8 (L:D) photoperiods, (12 ºC -12:12; 12 ºC -16:8; 15 ºC -12:12; 18 ºC -12:12) to investigate their effect on the number and size of sporophytes, biomass accumulation and nutritional composition. After 60 days of cultivation the 12 ºC -12:12 treatment had the greatest number of juvenile sporophytes, and the greatest biomass of 14 ± 1.3 g dry weight (DW). The lowest biomass of 1 g DW, was obtained from the 18 ºC -12:12 treatment. The protein content across all treatments ranged from 16-22.48% DW, with the 12 ºC (12/1212:12) treatment having largest range, then the 12ºC (16:18) treatment was next with 18.48-22.48% DW, and the 15ºC (12/1212:12) treatment had the lowest protein range with 16.48-18% DW. These results are in the range of protein content previously reported for brown seaweeds of 5-20%. Total polysaccharide content ranged from 9.6-16.2% DW with the highest content of 16.2% DW obtained for the 15 ºC-12:12 treatment, and the lowest protein content of 9.6% DW obtained for the 12 ºC (16:18). After 66 days of cultivation, the highest yield of sulphated polysaccharides of 0.4% DW was obtained for the 12 ºC (12/1212:12) treatment. Total fatty acids were analysed, with the highest polyunsaturated fatty acid content of 60.4% detected in the 12 ºC 12:12 treatment. This study demonstrates that temperature and photoperiod are factors impacting juvenile sporophyte growth, biomass accumulation and biochemical composition. The study showed the least stressed sporophytes produced the most potentially beneficial nutritional or bioactive profile.

Keywords: seaweed1, cultivation2, juvenile3, sporophytes4, bioproduct5, nutrient4, composition5, Protein6

Received: 02 Apr 2024; Accepted: 08 May 2024.

Copyright: © 2024 Purcell, Wheeler, Hayes and Packer. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Dr. Diane Purcell, National Collections and Marine Infrastructure, CSIRO, Parkville, VIC, Australia