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The Korean Society of Phycology (한국조류학회(藻類))
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In situ isolation of haloalkaliphilic microalga from the Yellow River Delta: enhancing legume crop resilience under saline-alkali stresses

  • Xiaoli Zhu (School of Food Science and Engineering, Yantai Institute of Technology) ;
  • Minmin Xu (Shandong Huankeyuan Environmental Engineering Co., Ltd.) ;
  • Jiahao Liang (School of Marine Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology) ;
  • Shenkun Liu (Yantai Agricultural Technology Extension Center) ;
  • Xiao Yu (Key Laboratory of Coastal Biology and Biological Resources Utilization, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences) ;
  • Yanpeng Pan (College of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Ludong University) ;
  • Guangwen Zhu (Shandong Leading Green Industry Development Co., Ltd.) ;
  • Xiaojing Wang (College of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Ludong University) ;
  • Jianchao Yang (Shandong Urban Service Vocational College) ;
  • Kang Wang (Key Laboratory of Coastal Biology and Biological Resources Utilization, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences) ;
  • ZhiHai Zhong (Key Laboratory of Coastal Biology and Biological Resources Utilization, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences) ;
  • Chenggang Ren (Key Laboratory of Coastal Biology and Biological Resources Utilization, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences) ;
  • Hongli Cui (Key Laboratory of Coastal Biology and Biological Resources Utilization, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences) ;
  • Song Qin (Key Laboratory of Coastal Biology and Biological Resources Utilization, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences)
  • Received : 2025.09.08
  • Accepted : 2025.11.28
  • Published : 2025.12.15
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Abstract

Coastal saline-alkaline soils in China's Yellow River Delta represent vital yet underutilized arable reserves, where crop productivity is severely constrained by dynamic salinity-alkalinity stress, compounded by the scarcity of native stress-adapted biological resources for sustainable remediation. This study addressed this critical gap through in situ isolation of a novel halo-alkaliphilic microalga from saline waters, identified as Desmodesmus sp. R1108 via morphological characterization (distinctive single/quad-cell palisade structures; 8×4-6 ㎛ cells) and molecular phylogeny. The strain exhibited unprecedented alkaliphilic traits, demonstrating 35% enhanced growth at 100 mM NaHCO3 while tolerating pH 10.0. Crucially, soil irrigation with live cells significantly boosted Sesbania cannabina resilience across multiple stress regimes: germination rates surged 47% under 200 mM NaCl, plant height increased 42% under 200 mM NaHCO3, and root biomass rose 56% under neutral salt stress-representing a novel application of a locally isolated, halo-alkaliphilic microalga via soil irrigation to leverage intrinsic stress-adaptation mechanisms for green-manure legume cultivation. This pot-scale study demonstrates a promising, eco-friendly bioinoculant approach that enhanced legume growth by 27-47% under controlled saline-alkaline conditions, highlighting its potential as a foundational strategy for the future development of scalable remediation techniques for marginal saline ecosystems.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This work was supported by Joint Funds of the National Natural Science Foundation of China and Shandong Province (U23A20146); National Key Research and Development Program of China (2021YFD1901105); Science and Technology Major Project of Shanxi Province, China (202101140601026-7); International Partnership Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences for Grand Challenges (324GJHZ2023029GC); National Natural Science Foundation of China (42476123); Science and Technology Major Project of Yantai City (2024ZDCX026); Changchun Branch of Chinese Academy of Sciences-Changchun Science and Technology Bureau Municipal Institute of Science and Technology Innovation cooperation project (24SH15); Shandong Natural Science Foundation (ZR2021MC106); Innovation & Entrepreneurship Project of Shandong Green Industry and Environmental Security Innovation and Entrepreneurship Community (2023-LSGTT-CX-004); Academician Workstation of Agricultural High-tech Industrial Area of the Yellow River Delta, National Center of Technology Innovation for Comprehensive Utilization of Saline-Alkali Land and Science & Technology Specific Projects in Agricultural High-tech Industrial Demonstration Area of the Yellow River Delta (2022SZX12); Database of Coastal Bioresources of China in National Basic Science Data Center (NBSDC-DB-22); We thank all the support from National Center of Technology Innovation for Comprehensive Utilization of Saline-Alkali Land.

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