Effects of light quality on microalgae cultivation: bibliometric analysis, mini-review, and regulation approaches.

The ever-increasing concern for energy shortages and greenhouse effect has triggered the development of sustainable green technologies. Microalgae have received more attention due to the characteristics of biofuel production and CO2 fixation. From the perspective of autotrophic growth, the optimization of light quality has the potential to promote biomass production and bio-component accumulation in microalgae at low cost. In this study, bibliometric analysis was used to describe the basic features, identify the hotspots, and predict future trends of the research related to the light quality on microalgae cultivation. In addition, a mini-review referring to regulation methods of light quality was provided to optimize the framework of research. Results demonstrated that China has the greatest interest in this area. The destination of most research was to obtain biofuels and high-value-added products. Both blue and red lights were identified as the crucial spectrums for microalgae cultivation. However, sunlight is the most affordable light resource, which could not be fully utilized by microalgae through the photosynthetic process. Hence, some regulation approaches (e.g., dyes, plasmonic scattering, and carbon-based quantum dots) are proposed to increase the proportion of beneficial spectrum for enhancement of photosynthetic efficiency. In summary, this review introduces state-of-the-art research and provides theoretical guidance for light quality optimization in microalgae cultivation to obtain more benefits.

Simultaneous nitrate and chromium removal mechanism in a pyrite-involved mixotrophic biofilter.

Microbially mediated NO3--N and Cr(VI) reduction is being recognized as an eco-friendly and cost-effective remediation strategy. Iron sulfide mineral, as a natural inorganic electron donor, has a strong influence on NO3--N and Cr(VI) transformation, respectively. However, little is known about the simultaneous nitrate and chromium removal performance and underlying mechanism in an iron sulfide mineral-involved mixotrophic biofilter. This study demonstrated that the NO3--N and Cr(VI) removal efficiencies were stable at 62 ± 8% and 56 ± 10%, and most of them were eliminated in the 0-100-mm region of the biofilter. Cr(VI) was reduced to insoluble Cr(III) via microbial and chemical pathways, which was confirmed by the SEM-EDS morphology and the XPS spectra of biofilm and pyrite particles. SO42- was as a main byproduct of pyrite oxidation; however, the bacterial SO42- reduction synchronously occurred, evidenced by the variations of TOC and SO42- concentrations. These results suggested that there were complicated and intertwined biochemical relations between NO3--N/Cr(VI)/SO42-/DO (electron acceptors) and pyrite/organics (electron donors). Further investigation indicated that both the maximal biomass and greatest denitrifiers' relative abundances in microbial sample S1 well explained why the pollutants were removed in the 0-100-mm region. A variety of denitrifiers such as Pseudoxanthomona, Acidovorax, and Simplicispira were enriched, which probably were responsible for both NO3--N and Cr(VI) removal. Our findings advance the understanding of simultaneous nitrate and chromium removal in pyrite-involved mixotrophic systems and facilitate the new strategy development for nitrate and chromium remediation.

Characterization and expression of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (mif) in Chinese sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis).

The Chinese sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis) is one of the critically endangered aquatic species in China. It is also among the oldest extant actinopterygian fish species. To advance the characterization of the Chinese sturgeon immune system, we identified the gene encoding the macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), a multifunctional cytokine that contributes to both innate and adaptive immune responses. Molecular and phylogenic analysis indicates the Chinese sturgeon (cs) MIF share a high degree of structural conservation with other MIF sequences and is closely related to other bony fish MIF. At steady state, cs-mif gene is expressed at relatively high levels in the brain, and to a lesser but significant level in liver, spleen, kidney, gut and skin. The spatial expression patterns determined by in situ hybridization indicates a preferential distribution of cs-mif transcripts in the cerebral cortex, the gut epithelium, hematopoietic tissues of kidney, spleen and liver parenchyma, and skin epidermis. Marked increase of cs-mif gene expression was induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation and Aeromonas hydrophila infection in all tested tissues. Furthermore, higher cs-mif transcript levels were detected in the liver, spleen, kidney, gut and skin during stress response resulting from hyperthermia. These results are not only consistent with the expected role of cs-mif gene in innate immunity but also suggest a potential role of this gene in stress response to hyperthermia in the Chinese sturgeon.

Effects of stocking density on growth, stress, and immune responses of juvenile Chinese sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis) in a recirculating aquaculture system.

The present study was to investigate the effects of stocking density on the welfare of juvenile Chinese sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis) cultured in a recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) for three months. Fish (average weight 760.86 g) were reared in triplicate under three densities: low density (4.80 kg m-2), medium density (8.99 kg m-2), and high density (12.68 kg m-2). The results showed that the 12.68 kg m-2 treatment significantly suppressed fish growth, gene expression of glutathione-s-transferase (GST), and enhanced serum adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), cortisol, glucose, lactate levels, and the heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) mRNA level (P < 0.05). Additionally, the 12.68 kg m-2 treatment significantly decreased serum glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activities, and increased the formation of malondialdehyde (P < 0.05). Serum immunoglobulin M (IgM), lysozyme, alkaline phosphatase, and acid phosphatase activities showed a significant decline in this group (P < 0.05). Transcriptions of immune-related genes, including lysozyme, hepcidin antimicrobial peptide 1 (HAMP1), tumor necrosis factor-ɑ (TNF-ɑ), interleukin 1ß, and interleukin 8 significantly reduced in the 12.68 kg m-2 group (P < 0.05). In the somatotropic axis, both the serum values and gene expressions of growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) resulted in a down-regulation in the 12.68 kg m-2 group (P < 0.05). Overall, these results suggest that high stocking density could negatively influence the growth, stress, and immune responses of juvenile Chinese sturgeon. Consequently, the appropriate stocking density recommended for culturing juvenile Chinese sturgeon in an RAS is between 4.80 kg m-2 and 8.99 kg m-2.

[Analysis of Microbial Diversity in a Fluidized-Sand Biofilter Based on High-Throughput Sequencing Technology].

In order to understand the microbial community composition and mechanism of purifying aquaculture water with a biofilter that was been applied to spotted parrotfish recirculating aquaculture systems with microglass beads as the biofilter filler, the changes in the nutrients of different biological filter beds and the water treatment performance of a fluidized-sand biofilter were analyzed. By using high-throughput sequencing technology, the microbial community structure of the surface area and bottom area at different times were studied. The results show that the fluidized-sand biofilter successfully start-up after one month under marine culture. Nitrification of the biofilter occurred mainly in the lower bed layer; the surface area played a small role in eliminating the NH4+-N. The average removal rates of NH4+-N, TN, BOD5, and SS were 68.3%±2.24%, 49.54%±3.56%, 60.35%±4.98%, and 45.21%±2.11%, respectively. The average NH4+-N removal load reached (343.28±75.5) g·(m3·d)-1, which showed a better performance of wastewater treatment. In this experiment, 31 phyla and 490 genera were identified, thus the biological diversity was significantly higher than that of the other conventional microbial biofilter. Start-stop cycling of the self-cleaning device in the biofilter had no effect on the microbial diversity of different regional, but had some effect on the dominant bacterial community of the microglass beads surface. Under opening self-cleaning device regularly condition, the microbial species of the surface and bottom areas became significantly similar. With time, the microbial species of the superficial area and bottom area had no significant change, and the microbial population structure was relatively stable. In the biofilm training period, the diversity of microbial communities was significantly lower than it was after biofilm maturation. At the time of biofilter stable operation, the dominant bacteria of the superficial zone essentially remained unchanged and mainly included Anaerolineaceae_uncultured (8.4%-28%), Flavobacteriaceae_unclassified (1.1%-32%), Rhodobacteraceae_uncultured (2.3%-17%), Nitrospira(1%-7%), and Caldilineaceae_uncultured (1%-6%). The dominant bacteria of the bottom zone changed over time and mainly include Nitrospira (12.45%-17.06%), Candidatus_Microthrix (2.6%-8.8%), Muricauda (4.8%-6.3%), Defluviimonas (6%-7%), and Rhodobacteraceae_uncultured (2%-6.2%). Among them, the abundance of Nitrospira was significantly higher than that in the other biofilter.

[Analysis of the changes of microbial community structure on bio-carrier of recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS)].

In order to study the variation of microbial community structure and the mechanism of denitrification on bio-carrier in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) during the periods of bio-film formation and operation the systems, traditional microbiological methods were applied to count the quantity of heterotrophic bacteria, ammonia oxidize bacteria and nitrite oxidize bacteria. The amplified products of variable V3 region of bacterial 16S rDNA were separated by using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). And bacterial community DNA fingerprint was obtained. The sequences retrieved from the DGGE bands were used for homology analysis and construction of phylogenetic tree. It presented a trend that the quantity of the three types of bacteria increased gradually to a top and then fallen slowly to a stable level. The composition of microbial community of bio-carrier was very abundant in all periods, and the Shannon index was 1.53, 1.44, 1.57, 1.08, 1.27 and 1.30, respectively. During different periods, there was a certain shift in the microbial community structure, while the C(s) value (similar index) in two adjacent periods was high, indicating the variation and succession of the microbial community was slow and regular. Several bacteria had an effect on removal of pollutants for farming water and the effluent water quality could meet the requirements of high-density culture. Among them, Proteobacteria and Flavobacteria were main communities. The Nitrosomonas and some other facultative anaerobic bacteria (Flavobacteriaceae bacterium) were identified, which indicated that there may be coexisted pathways of nitrification and denitrification in bio-filter.