Photosynthesis, growth and biochemical composition of the biomass of the freshwater microalga Chlamydopodium fusiforme cultures outdoors in a thin-layer cascade were investigated. Gross oxygen production measured off-line in samples taken from the outdoor cultures was correlated with the electron transport rate estimated from chlorophyll a fluorescence measurements. According to photosynthesis measurements, a mean of 38.9 ± 10.3 mol of photons were required to release one mole of O2, which is 4.86 times higher than the theoretical value (8 photons per 1 O2). In contrast, according to the fluorescence measurements, a mean of 11.7 ± 0.74 mol of photons were required to release 1 mol of O2. These findings indicate that fluorescence-based photosynthesis rates may not be fully replace oxygen measurements to evaluate the performance of an outdoor culture. Daily gross biomass productivity was 0.3 g DW L-1 day-1 consistently for 4 days. Biomass productivity was strongly affected by the suboptimal concentration at which the culture was operated and by the respiration rate, as the substantial volume of culture was kept in the dark (about 45% of the total volume). As the cells were exposed to excessive light, the photosynthetic activity was mainly directed to the synthesis of carbohydrates in the biomass. In the morning, carbohydrate content decreased because of the dark respiration. Per contra, protein content in the biomass was lower at the end of the day and higher in the morning due to carbohydrate consumption by respiration. The data gathered in these trials are important for the future exploitation of Chlamydopodium fusiforme as a potential novel species in the field of microalgae for the production of bio-based compounds.

CIMAR Centro de Investigación en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología Universidad de Costa Rica San Pedro Costa Rica

CNR Institute of Bioeconomy Sesto Fiorentino Florence Italy

Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambiente Facultad de Agronomía Universidad de Buenos Aires CABA Av San Martín 4453 1417 Buenos Aires Argentina

Department of Chemical Engineering University of Almería Almería Spain

Department of Ecology Faculty of Sciences Malaga University Malaga Spain

Escuela de Biologia Universidad de Costa Rica San Pedro Costa Rica

Faculty of Agriculture University of South Bohemia České Budějovice Czech Republic

Faculty of Science University of South Bohemia České Budějovice Czech Republic

Institute for Blue Biotechnology and Development Department of Ecology Malaga University Malaga Spain Malaga Spain

Laboratory of Algal Biotechnology Centre Algatech Institute of Microbiology Czech Academy of Sciences Třeboň Czech Republic

Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Research Center of Advanced Studies University of Playa Ancha Viña del Mar Chile

Research Institute on Terrestrial Ecosystems National Research Council Via Madonna del Piano 10 50019 Sesto Fiorentino Italy

Vicerrectoría de Investigación Postgrado E Innovación HUB AMBIENTAL UPLA Universidad de Playa Ancha 2340000 Valparaíso Chile

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