Photonic tools for studying freshwater and marine diatoms during long-term cultivation
Julijana Cvjetinovic,1 Yekaterina D. Bedoshvili,2 Nikolai A. Davidovich,3 Alexey I. Salimon,1 Alexander M. Korsunsky,1,2 Dmitry A. Gorin,1
1 Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow, Russia
2 Limnological Institute SB, Russian Academy of Sciences, Irkutsk, Russia
3 T.I. Vyazemsky Karadag Scientific Station – Nature Reserve of the RUS – Branch of
IBSS, Feodosia, Russia
4 Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
Abstract
Photoacoustic and fluorescence imaging techniques are readily used to collect signals from complex biological objects with high spatial accuracy of detecting their components containing light-absorbing molecules. Unicellular photosynthetic microalgae, called diatoms, are good representatives of these types of objects, given the fact that, as one of the main photosynthesizers containing a large number of chromophores, they produce 40% of the organic carbon and 20% of the oxygen on the planet Earth. Here, we used fluorescence tomography setup IVIS SpectrumCT and raster scanning optoacoustic mesoscopy (RSOM) system to evaluate the growth of both freshwater pennate and marine centric diatoms, that can be successfully cultivated in bioreactors and used for carbon dioxide sequestration that can be further redirected into valuable products, including lipids, vitamins, pigments, polysaccharides, omega-3 fatty acids, and other metabolites. Fluorescence and photoacoustic measurements showed that the highest intensity values in freshwater diatoms were obtained after 45 days of cultivation, while in marine diatoms the end of the exponential growth phase occurred after 30 days, which was also confirmed by spectroscopic methods. These non-destructive photonic methods based on the absorption and fluorescence of chlorophyll and carotenoids allowed us to quickly and successfully assess the growth of diatoms, which expands the possibilities of their cultivation and collection of biologically active substances not only in laboratory conditions but also in aquaculture and bioreactor practice.
Speaker
Julijana Cvjetinovic
Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow, Russia
Russia
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