Effect of naturally occurring apatites on growth and morphology of algae

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Abstract
Crystals (30–100 μm) of selected naturally occurring apatite (Ca10 (PO4)6(OH, F)2) samples were added to P-free (43− The media were inoculated with washed, non-axenic cells of three chlorophycean algal species cultivated under PO43−-deficient conditions. Phase-contrast and scanning electron microscopy revealed that at low slurry densities (1–10 μg/ml of apatite), Ankistrodesnuis braunii (ATCC 2744) cells were morphologically distorted. At concentrations of 100 and 1000 μg/ml of apatite, more than 85% of the cells had undergone autospore formation within 7–10 days of incubation at 20 °C. Most autospores formed failed to germinate under high nutrient conditions. Scenedesmus longus (No. 1236) formed colonies when cultivated in Bristol's medium but daughter ceils displayed a Chodatella-like unicellular morphology when grown in apatite media. Test algal species (Chlamydomonas dysosmos, S. longus, A. braunii) showed a marked preference for growth on apatite crystals over non-nutritive surfaces. Unialgal and mixed-algal cultures produced an extensive matrix of extracellular fibrous material in response to growth on crystals at concentrations greater than 10 μg/ml of apatite.

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