Edible cyanobacteria (Nostochopsis spp.) from glass house, Queen Sirikit Botanical Garden, Thailand

Abstract

Nostochopsis spp. are edible and rare cyanobacteria which form thick mucilaginous colonies, 0.1-8 cm in size, attached on the rocks or cobbles in transparent shallow streams or rivers. They are classified in the Order Nostocales, Family Hapalosiphonaceae. The objective of this study was to investigate the colonial growth, pigments and quality of water in the ponds at 3 glass houses in the Queen Sirikit Botanic Garden, Chiang Mai Province in which these cyanobacteria were growing during April-June 2012. The three glass houses were; the Aquatic house, the Bromeliad house and Orchids and Fern house. Ten colonies from each sampling site were measured once a week. The average increase in colonial size was found to be 0.17±0.06, 0.30±0.08 and 0.15±0.08 cm/week respectively. Chlorophyll, phycocyanin, allophycocyanin and carotenoid were highest in the samples from Aquatic house as 16.22±4.28, 11.95±8.55, 73.62±4.07 and 12.70±1.54 mg/g.dw, respectively. These cyanobacteria grew at 22-30°C, pH 6.17-8.75 and conductivity 112-171 μs/cm. The water quality was clean-moderate and in oligo-mesotrophic status. © Maxwell Scientific Organization, 2014.