Dunaliella is a unicellular, bi-flagellate, naked green alga. The genus was first described by Teodoresco with the type of species being Dunaliella salina, and at present a total of 29 species, as well as a number of varieties and forms, are recognized.

Dunaliella cells are ovoid, spherical, pyriform, fusiform or ellipsoid with size varying from 5 to 25 lm in length and from 3 to 13 lm in width. The cells also contain a single cup-shaped chloroplast which mostly has a central pyrenoid surrounded by starch granules. Besides chlorophylls a and b, the members of Dunaliella contain valuable carotenoid pigments such as a- and b-carotene, violaxanthin, neoxanthin, zeaxanthin and lutein. In D. salina and D. parva the chloroplast accumulates large quantities of B-carotene so that the cells appear orange-red rather than green. The carotenoid are in the form of droplets (plastoglobuli) located at the chloroplast periphery and consist of a mixture of the cis- and transisomers of β-carotene. Dunaliella salina is characterized by its ability to accumulate very high concentrations of β-carotene. Concentrations of up to 14% of dry weight have been reported

Cell shape in this genus is very variable, being oval, spherical, cylindrical, ellipsoidal, egg-, pear- or spindle-shaped with radial, bilateral or dorsoventral symmetry or being asymmetrical. Cells in any given species may change shape with changing conditions, often becoming spherical under unfavorable conditions. Cell size also varies with growth conditions and light intensity.

 

The genus Dunaliella has marine and halophilic representatives. Dunaliella also has a very wide pH tolerance ranging from pH 1 to pH 11. In fact, D. salina is one of the most environmentally tolerant eukaryotic organisms known and can cope with a salinity range from seawater (= 3% NaCl) to NaCl saturation (= 31% NaCl), and a temperature range from <0 °C to >38 °C.

Dunaliella species are commonly observed in salt lakes in all parts of the world from tropical to temperate to polar regions where they often impart an orange-red colour to the water. Marine Dunaliella species can generally be isolated from seawater, although they are not very abundant in nature.

Today the biotechnology is used in solving many practical questions on increase in food resources of the countries. The biotechnology provides many branches of economy of the developed countries with renewed raw materials. The biotechnology provides pharmacological factories with initial raw materials. It is already impossible to imagine public health services without medical preparations received in the biotechnological way. The important place in biotechnological world production occupies industrial production of micro seaweed and cyanobacteriae (blue-green algae). These are profitable and productions of renewed sources of natural raw materials without waste. These biofactories provide allocation of pronative oxygen О2 and absorption (recycling) of atmospheric carbonic gas СО2. That is it reduces harmful influence to the surrounding environment of other branches of economy. In the countries of Europe, the USA, Japan, Israel, Australia, Mexico, Taiwan, China, etc. Biotechnological factories are created and continue intensively to be created. These enterprises make foodstuff vitamins and medical preparations, a forage and biostimulating additives, biological fertilizers, food dyes and many other things. World production of photosynthesizing microseaweed is estimated in thousand tons a year. In particular, in biotechnological sphere manufactures of a biomass of micro seaweed Dunaliella it is considerably allocated.

Various parameters of cultivation are developed for biotechnological manufacture of a biomass of micro seaweed Dunaliella. This micro seaweed grows up in strictly controllable conditions (operated biosynthesis). Biomass manufacture is lead in cultivators of the closed type (glasstubed photo bioreactors).

 

 

The description of the basic stages:

1. Building of photo bioreactors closed (glasstubed installations) and opened types (basin installations). Building and installation of industrial work, installation of industrial water treating, preparation of the necessary equipment for separating out of a biomass, preparation of an industrial line of drying and packing of a biomass.
3.The Industrial cycle of cultivation of a biomass of microseaweed Dunaliella.
4. Gathering of finished goods (crop). On glasstubed photobioreactors (the closed type) is spent daily. But on basin photo bioreactors (open type) it is spent for 1 time during a cycle (from 7 till 14 days).
5. The Finished goods (biomass) pass specialized process of drying –the manufacture of algae flour. Ready-made algae flour enters the line of packing and marking then moves to a warehouse.

In certain cases the biomass of micro seaweed Dunaliella is not exposed to soft thermal processing, and in a crude kind is packaged and then cooled. In this case biomass production keeps on 100 % all natural parameters (components, vitamins and bioactive substances).

Formation and applications