Light is the essential energy source for autotrophically growing organisms, including microalgae. Both light intensity and light quality affect cell growth and biomass composition. Here we used three green algae-Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, Desmodesmus quadricauda, and Parachlorella kessleri-to study the effects of different light intensities and light spectra on their growth. Cultures were grown at three different light intensities (100, 250, and 500 µmol m-2 s-1) and three different light sources: fluorescent lamps, RGB LEDs, and white LEDs. Cultures of Desmodesmus quadricauda and Parachlorella kessleri were saturated at 250 µmol m-2 s-1, and further increasing the light intensity did not improve their growth. Chlamydomonas reinhardtii cultures did not reach saturation under the conditions used. All species usually divide into more than two daughter cells by a mechanism called multiple fission. Increasing light intensity resulted in an increase in maximum cell size and division into more daughter cells. In Parachlorella kessleri cells, the concentration of photosynthetic pigments decreased with light intensity. Different light sources had no effect on algal growth or photosynthetic pigments. The results show a species-specific response of algae to light intensity and support the use of any white light source for their cultivation without negative effects on growth.

Laboratory of Cell Cycles of Algae Centre Algatech Institute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences 37981 Třeboň Czech Republic

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Cultivation of the microalgae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Desmodesmus quadricauda in highly deuterated media: Balancing the light intensity