CONCENTRATION OF LIQUID PES MEDIA ON THE GROWTH AND PHOTOSYNTHETIC PIGMENTS OF SEAWEEDS COTONII PROPAGULE (KAPPAPHYCUS ALVAREZII DOTY) THROUGH TISSUE CULTURE

Abstract

In vitro tissue culture of Kappaphycus alvarezii, the required nutrients are derived from the culture medium. The use of liquid PES medium as a culture medium has been widely applied to increase the growth rate of seaweeds. Seaweeds growth is also associated with photosynthetic pigments. If the absorption of light by chlorophyll a is sufficient, the process of photosynthesis will take place optimally, so that the growth of seaweed can increase. This study aims to examine the effect of liquid PES medium on the growth and photosynthetic pigments of Kappaphycus alvarezii propagule. The treatments used included 10 ml and 20 ml liquid PES media. Parameters measured include weight gain, daily growth rate, photosynthetic pigment contents (chlorophyll a and phycoerythrin) and absorption of nitrate (N) and phosphorus (P). The results showed that the use of 10 ml liquid PES medium gave better results than the use of 20 ml liquid PES medium on all parameters measured.

Keywords

• Growth
• photosynthetic pigments
• K.alvarezii
• tissue culture