Soil salinity is a foreign term to most, yet it is now a global issue. With an increase in farming and irrigation worldwide, soil salinity is stunting crop growth and inhibiting its ability to produce viable yields. Salt exposure to photosynthetic organisms can severely inhibit their growth rate and cause cell damage, however, mesophilic green algae named Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Chlamydomonas priscuii may be the answer to increased soil salinity. In the study, a wild-type (Wt) C. reinhardtii and (UWO) C. priscuii were used to compare how salt exposure affects the growth rate, cell size, cell count, chlorophyll count, and photochemical light activity in palmelloid formation. In addition to salt exposure, the algae were resuspended into a favorable environment to disrupt any palmelloids that formed in response to the saline. From the study, it was found that the algae formed palmelloids readily when exposed to high saline conditions and disrupted the palmelloids when exposed to a low salt environment. During palmelloidy, it was found that the algae lose their flagella and entered a dormant-like state, however, both strains of algae were still able to replicate. It was shown that cell size increased rapidly during high salt conditions, but then dropped drastically after resuspension into low salt, thereby supporting the disruption process. For the future, this experiment should be run with other stressors to see exactly what will induce palmelloidy and if the disruption process is uniform throughout the stressors. This study gave more understanding of how green algae physiology is directly impacted by the environment and the ecological implications of a harmful environment.
Author(s): Connor Wasmund, Microbiology Major
Advisor(s): Rachael Morgan-Kiss, Department of Microbiology
Devon Popson, Department of Microbiology
Bradley Krzysiak, Department of Microbiology
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