Tolerance to exogenously added ROS examined for correlation with enhanced specific growth rates of Arthrospira platensis

The photosynthetic apparatus is a major proliferator of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are then scavenged by oxidative protective mechanisms. Here we investigated whether tolerance to exogenously added ROS and ROS synthesizers correlates with the growth characteristics of Arthrospira platensis , a cultivated species of cyanobacteria. We found that tolerance to Rose Bengal (RB), a singlet oxygen photosensitizer, correlates with increased maximum specific growth rates in A. platensis strains grown at both 20 and 30°C. Based on these findings, we suggest that RB could serve as an effective preliminary screening tool to identify the strains likely to have enhanced growth rates in high light environments.