Microalgal biotechnology has received research attention in recent years owing to increased knowledge that some microalgae species contain important bioactive compounds (e.g. polyunsaturated fatty acids , astaxanthin, polyphenols , carotenoids, amino acids etc.) with potential application in the animal and human nutrition, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and even in fuel industries. However, only few of these species have been successfully cultivated for the commercial production of their high valued products. As Nigeria is striving to tap into numerous opportunities in blue economy, the need to explore various commercial benefits inherent in microalgae appears to be more urgent now than ever.
The first and critical step in bio-prospecting of microalga e is the selection of microalgal species, which involves series of steps, including sample collection, isolation, purification, identification, maintenance and characterization of potential products. Cultivation protocols must then be developed for the screened isolates of notable benefits in order to optimize their production for commercial propagations.
The present study identified cultivable microalgae occurring naturally at the Araromi Beach (Lat 6o 22’ 43”N Long 4o 49’59”E) area of Ondo State, Nigeria. Samples were collected in the beach (Araromi) at about 1 km from the shoreline, at entry point of a river flowing into the beach (Ese Odo), and at the upper part of the river at a distance of about 1 km from the entry point (Owawa). Phytoplankton samples were obtained by scooping to a depth of 0.5 m below water surface with a plankton net (mesh size 25μm) mounted on a moving boat. Similarly, water quality parameters (temperature , salinity and pH) of sampling locations were measured in-situ. The collected phytoplankton samples were transported immediately to the laboratory and cultured in Beneck’s broth and Algal culture broth for a period of ten day s. 1 ml of each broth was re-suspended twice in the fresh broth and cultured following standard procedures. Algal growth in the broth was examined morphologically under a light microscope (40X and 100X magnifications) and identified using appropriate texts. A total of eight species of microalgae were identified from the sampling locations (Table 1).