Polyhydroxybutyrate Production by Spirulina sp. LEB 18 Grown under Different Nutrient Concentrations
Open accessAbstract
In response to the environmental problems caused by plastics of petrochemical origin, a reduction in the use of these materials and their replacement by biodegradable polymers have been sought. Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), a biopolymer of biological origin that belongs to the polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), is similar to polypropylene in terms of its mechanical properties, thermodegradability and melting temperature. Various microorganisms, including cyanobacteria, can synthesize this biopolymer. The objective of this study was to stimulate biopolymer synthesis by Spirulina sp. LEB 18 that was grown under different nutritional conditions. Initially, the growth was conducted with Spirulina sp. LEB 18 without the adaptation of the inoculum. In these assays, the concentrations of the carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus sources were varied. The assay that showed the maximum concentration of biopolymers was reproduced with the adaptation of the inoculum for 45 days. There was an inverse relationship between the cell growth and biopolymer synthesis. The assay that contained 0.25 g L-1 sodium nitrate, 4.4 g L-1 sodium bicarbonate and 0.5 g L-1 potassium phosphate showed the maximum cell concentration (0.6 g L-1) and a low biopolymer accumulation (13.4%). In addition, the assay that contained 0.05 g L-1 sodium nitrate, 8.4 g L-1 sodium bicarbonate and 0.5 g L-1 potassium phosphate produced a high biopolymer concentration (30.7%) and a low cell concentration (0.5 g L-1). The adaptation of the inoculum increased the cell concentration by 7.0% and the biopolymer yield by 20.5%. The biopolymer production was more efficient in assays in which the nitrogen was restricted and had maximum carbon consumption. Key words: Biopolymers, polyhydroxyalkanoates, microalgae, cyanobacteria.
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Coelho et al. and Costa et al. studied PHA production from Spirulina sp., showing yields of 30.7% PHA and 12.0% PHA (w/w dry biomass), respectively.
“For instance, Coelho et al. [197] and Costa et al. [198] have studied PHA production from Spirulina sp., showing yields of 30.7% PHA (w/w dry biomass) and 12.0% PHA (w/w dry biomass), respectively.”
From Emerging Applications of Chlorella sp. and Spirulina (Arthrospira) sp. (2023) · cites this paper as [197]
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- Authors
- Vanessa, C. C., Cleber, K. D. S., Ana, L. T., Jorge, A. V. C., & Michele, G. D. M.
- Affiliations
- Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (BR)
- Corresponding author
- Michele, Greque de Morais
- Venue
- African Journal of Microbiology Research
- Publisher
- Academic Journals
- Published
- 2015-06-17
- Volume
- 9
- Issue
- 24
- Pages
- 1586-1594
- ISSN
- 1996-0808 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2565034685
- Cited by
- 45
- References
- 21
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 5 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 3
- FWCI
- 0.36
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- diamond
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- African Journal of Microbiology Research (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação
- Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Biomaterials › biodegradable polymer synthesis and properties
- Physical Sciences › Energy › Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment › Algal biology and biofuel production
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Biopolymer Synthesis and Applications
- Keywords
- polyhydroxybutyrate, polyhydroxyalkanoates, cyanobacteria, biopolymer production, nutrient concentration, nitrogen limitation, carbon source, biodegradable plastics, microalgae
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