MORPHO-PHYSIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF BOTRYOCOCCUS BRAUNII (KUTZING, 1849) & ITS OIL PRODUCTION FROM THE SPECIES ISOLATED FROM THANE, MAHARASHTRA, INDIAGANESH IYER, SEEMA MENON, YASH GUPTE, SAMRUDDHA PHADNIS AND YOGESH PAWARAbstract Botryococcus braunii (Kutzing, 1849) is an alga that has been placed in the order incertae sedis. It has ovoid cells which are arranged in a tetrad manner in the centre of the colonies and these cells expand outwards and are converted into conical cells which form the boundaries of the colonies on maturation. The morphology of Botryococcus braunii (Kutzing, 1849) was studied using the LaboMed Lx 300 trinocular microscope; at certain light intensity the alga liberates oils in the form of droplets. When the Botryococcus braunii (Kutzing, 1849) was treated with saline, the alga changes its colour to orange. This orange colour is due to polymer formation which is called as Coorongites. Oil production in Botryococcus braunii (Kutzing, 1849) appears to be related to the breakdown of chlorophyll as the colony changes its colour from green to yellow. However this polymer formation is dependent on the amount of chlorophyll present in the entire colony. This could probably be a genetically controlled process with the switch on and off of gene function which may occur with variations in light intensity.
Enter your contact information below to receive full paper.
|