Can Devaleraea mollis chromatically adapt?

Conference Year

January 2019

Abstract

Diversity in phytochrome pigments enables algae to harvest light at different heights in the ocean column. This concept, called "chromatic adaption", has been untested on Devaleraea mollis, commonly referred to as "dulse", a red-seaweed popularly eaten on the West Coast. This study will test if Devaleraea mollis can chromatically adapt to red, green, or blue LED lights. If it is, both red and blue lights should induce higher chlorophyll-a, beta-carotene, and allophycocyanin concentrations, while green should induce higher phycoerythrin and phycocyanin. This study is applicable to seaweed farmers who aim to grow deep-red seaweeds high in phycoerythrin.

Primary Faculty Mentor Name

Thomas Vogelmann

Secondary Mentor Name

Mark Starrett

Status

Undergraduate

Student College

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Program/Major

Ecological Agriculture

Primary Research Category

Biological Sciences

Secondary Research Category

Food & Environment Studies

Abstract only.

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Can Devaleraea mollis chromatically adapt?

Diversity in phytochrome pigments enables algae to harvest light at different heights in the ocean column. This concept, called "chromatic adaption", has been untested on Devaleraea mollis, commonly referred to as "dulse", a red-seaweed popularly eaten on the West Coast. This study will test if Devaleraea mollis can chromatically adapt to red, green, or blue LED lights. If it is, both red and blue lights should induce higher chlorophyll-a, beta-carotene, and allophycocyanin concentrations, while green should induce higher phycoerythrin and phycocyanin. This study is applicable to seaweed farmers who aim to grow deep-red seaweeds high in phycoerythrin.