CULTURE OF STRAINS OF DUNALIELLA-SALINA ( TEODORESCO 1905) IN DIFFERENT MEDIA UNDER LABORATORY CONDITIONS

Pigment content (chlorophyll ''a'' and total carotenoids) and cell den sity in seven Chilean strains of Dunaliella salina and in Dunaliella b ardawil grown in three media with different nutritional composition (P ES, ES and J/l) were quantified at stationary phase of growth. The str ains were grown in test tubes with 15 ml of medium, under a photon flu x density of 60 and 30 mu Em(-2)s(-1), from above and below, respectiv ely, at a temperature of 20 +/- 3 degrees C and a photoperiod 12:12 (L :D). In all the strains, the highest total carotenoids content per cel l and the lowest cell density were obtained in PES medium; the contrar y occurred in J/l medium. In spite of the differences in pigment conte nt per cell obtained in PES and in J/l, the mean yield of total carote noid per volume was similar in both media. CONC-007 was the most carot enogenic strain with values of 97,5 pg cell(-1) and 59,5 mg l(-1) in P ES + 20% NaCl. Although the strain CONC-006 accumulated the highest to tal carotenoids per cell in PES (124 pg cell(-1)), the concentration o f these pigments per liter was lower than in the other strains because of the inferior cell density of this strain in PES and in any of the media assessed. The strain CONC-001 from Antofagasta was the least car otenogenic (6,4 a 49,7 pg cel(-1)). D. bardawil exhibited a carotenoid s content similar to the mean of the other Chilean strains (13,9 a 49, 8 pg cel(-1)). The utilization of PES, ES and J/l in the cultivation o f D. salina under laboratory conditions is discussed, as well as the p otential use of these media in cultures at industrial scale.