ISOLATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF MICROALGAE FROM GODFREY OKOYE UNIVERSITY FISH POND

ABSTRACT

Chlorella vulgaris is an edible microalgae and a highly notorious potential feed resource for many agriculturally important animal species. Chlorella vulgaris intake has also been linked to improvements in animal health and welfare. Its influence over animal development stems from its nutritive and protein-rich composition, thus leading to an increased commercial production to meet consumer demand. The aim of this work is to isolate and identify microalgae used in poultry farming and objectives of this research work is to determine the growth condition of microalgae and harvest microalgae used in poultry farming. Centrifugation of the sample to concentration the algal cells and plating using pour plate method was done. One percent agar-agar BG-11 medium was used for the algae isolation. Antibiotic added to avoid bacterial growth. Microscopic identification of the isolates based on cell morphology and colonial characteristics was carried out. The isolate was cultivated in a sterile BG-11 medium in presence of light and carbon dioxide and BG-11 medium as source of nutrient. Harvesting of chlorella vulgaris involves filtration, centrifugation and drying using hot oven at appropriate temperature. This study was able to isolate and identify the microalgae of interest, which can later be used in poultry farming in future study

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Microalgae are microscopic, typically found in soil, marshes, freshwater, brackish water, seawater and thermal springs, living in both the water Colum and sediment. They are unicellular species which exist individually, or in chains or groups. Depending on the species, their sizes can range from a few micrometers (µm) to a few hundred micrometers. Unlike higher plants, microalgae do not have roots, stems, or leaves. They are specially adapted to an environment dominated by viscous forces. Algae are typically classified as green, brown and red algae. Some microalgae which are used as poultry feed include Athrospira maxima, Chlorella vulgaris, Athrospira platensis, Porphridium cruentum, Schizochytrium sp, Hizikia fusiforme, Undaria sp, Gracilaria sp, kappapaphycus spLaminaria sp. The increasing demand for human protein food sources has resulted in a need for new feed materials which provide a safe source of nutrients for poultry and livestock. Several feeding experiments have demonstrated that microalgae of different species can be successfully included into poultry diets, for example as a defatted biomass byproduct from biofuel production, and can have a beneficial  influence on birds’ health, performance, and the quality of meat and eggs. Especially important for the poultry industry are recent studies where microalgae biomass was efficiently used in the production of eggs containing health-promoting lipids, i.e. eggs enriched with health promoting long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs n-3).

The traditional method of enriching eggs with LCPUFAs n-3 is to incorporate linseed or fish oil into the layer diet; however, this latter method is limited by the high demand for marine products and the risk of their contamination with heavy metals (Wu et al., 2012).

The identification of new feed resources is therefore crucial for sustainable animal production and future viability. Ideally, the new feed resource should have high nutritive value and conversion efficiency, be able to optimize animal product quality and use land and water efficiently (Poppi and McLennan, 2010). Consequently, chlorella vuigaris is emerging as a potential candidate to meet these criteria.