Effect of macronutrient supplements on growth and biochemical compositions in photoautotrophic cultivation of isolated Asterarcys sp. (BTA9034)

Asterarcys sp. has been isolated from the forest area of Tripura, India, which is a part of biodiversity hotspot under the north east region of India and remains largely unexplored. In this study, we have identified the isolated algae strain by rRNA sequence analysis. For the first time, ultrastucture morphology with surface elemental analysis of this strain was revealed in this study. In addition, biochemical characterization (e.g. chlorophyll, protein, carbohydrate and lipid) along with growth rate was performed by varying macro nutrient source of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus under photoautotropic culture condition. Isolated Asterarcys sp. has shown sustainability in wide range of pH. High biomass (0.56 g L−1) produced by this strain in nitrogen limited condition (N:P ratio ∼8.7). Variation of macronutrients shows that this strain is enriched with carbohydrate (30-60% of dry biomass) and protein (30-50% of dry biomass) content with low lipid accumulation (6-11% of dry biomass). In a nutshell, Asterarcys sp. BTA 9034 has the potential to be used in industrial application for its high protein and carbohydrate content and with its ability grow in outdoor environmental conditions.