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. 2021 May 11:9:e11351.
doi: 10.7717/peerj.11351. eCollection 2021.

Artificial light source selection in seaweed production: growth of seaweed and biosynthesis of photosynthetic pigments and soluble protein

Shitao Huang #  1 , Ke Li #  1 , Yaoru Pan  1 , Yan Yu  1 , Thomas Wernberg  2 , Thibaut de Bettignies  2   3 , Jiaping Wu  1 , Chaosheng Zhou  4 , Zhixing Huang  4 , Xi Xiao  1
Affiliations

Artificial light source selection in seaweed production: growth of seaweed and biosynthesis of photosynthetic pigments and soluble protein

Shitao Huang et al. PeerJ. .

Abstract

Seaweed growth is often limited by light. Artificial light supply has been well studied in terrestrial agriculture, however, much less is known about its effect in seaweed aquaculture. In this study, the effects of four artificial light sources (white, red, green, and blue LEDs light) on a brown alga Sargassum fusiforme and a green alga Ulva pertusa were investigated. Seaweed growth, accumulation of photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll a and carotenoid), and soluble protein were evaluated. White LED light was the optimal supplementary light when cultivating Ulva pertusa and Sargassum fusiforme, because it promoted seaweed growth while maintaining protein production. Meanwhile, red LED was unfavored in the cultivation of S. fusiforme, as it affected the seaweed growth and has a lower residual energy ratio underneath the water. LEDs would be a promising supplementary light source for seaweed cultivation.

Keywords: Light sources; Light-emitting diodes(leds); Pigment; Seaweed; Soluble protein.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare there are no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Experimental settings of LED culture system for U. pertusa and S. fusiforme.
W, R, G, B represent white, red, green, blue LED light treatments. The LED lighting system was assembled in white PVC tubes (height: 25 cm, diameter: 20 cm), with flexible rope LED lights (rope length is 3 m) affixed to the inner walls of each PVC tubes.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Emission spectral distribution of the the white, red, green and blue LEDs light sources.
(A) Red, green, blue LEDs (B) White LEDs.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Specific growth rate (SGR) of U. pertusa. and S. fusiforme after 18 days cultivation under various LEDs.
(A) SGR of U. pertusa (B) SGR of S. fusiforme.
Figure 4
Figure 4. Pigments concentrations of U. pertusa and S. fusiforme after 18 days cultivation under various LEDs.
(A) Chlorophyll a concentration of U. pertusa (B) Carotenoid concentration of U. pertusa (C) Chlorophyll a concentration of S. fusiforme (D) Carotenoid concentration of S. fusiforme.
Figure 5
Figure 5. Soluble protein concentrations of U. pertusa and S. fusiforme after 18 days cultivation under various LEDs.
(A) Soluble protein concentration of U. pertusa (B) Soluble protein concentration of S. fusiform.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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