Microalgal Biodiversity at Antarctica

A collection of about 20 isolates of Antarctic microalgae from the Windmill Islands region, around Casey Station has been established in the University of Malaya Algae Culture Collection (UMACC). The Antarctic microalgae in the collection includes Chlamydomonas, Chlorella, Stichococcus, Navicula. Ulothrix and Chlorosarcina. Comparative studies on the effect of global warming and UVR stress on these Antarctic microalgae and the tropical collection are being conducted. From the abstract of one of the referenced papers: The growth, biochemical composition and fatty acid profiles of six Antarctic microalgae cultured at different temperatures, ranging from 4, 6, 9, 14, 20 to 30 degrees C, were compared. The algae were isolated from seawater, freshwater, soil and snow samples collected during our recent expeditions to Casey, Antarctica, and are currently deposited in the University of Malaya Algae Culture Collection (UMACC). The algae chosen for the study were Chlamydomonas UMACC 229, Chlorella UMACC 234, Chlorella UMACC 237, Klebsormidium UMACC 227, Navicula UMAC 231 and Stichococcus UMACC 238. All the isolates could grow at temperatures up to 20 degrees C; three isolates, namely Navicula UMACC 231 and the two Chlorella isolates (UMACC 234 and UMACC 237) grew even at 30 degrees C. Both Chlorella UMACC 234 and Stichococcus UMAC 238 had broad optimal temperatures for growth, ranging from 6 to 20 degrees C (growth rate = 0.19 - 0.22 per day) and 4 to 14 degrees C (growth rate = 0.13 - 0.16 per day), respectively. In constrast, optimal growth temperatures for Navicula UMACC 231 and Chlamydomonas UMACC 229 were 4 degrees C (growth rate = 0.34 per day) and 6 to 9 degrees C (growth rate = 0.39 - 0.40 per day), respectively. The protein content of the Antarctic algae was markedly affected by culture temperature. All except Navicula UMACC 231 and Stichococcus UMACC contained higher amount of proteins when grown at low temperatures (6-9 degrees C). The percentage of PUFA, especially 20:5 in Navicula UMACC 231 decreased with increasing culture temperature. However, the percentages of unsaturated fatty acids did not show consistent trend with culture temperature for the other algae studied. There are three spreadsheets available in the download file. ASAC_2590 - provides detail about where each species of algae was collected from. ASAC_2590a - provides data from Teoh Ming-Li et al (2004) ASAC_2590b - provides data from Wong Chiew-Yen et al (2004) The fields in this dataset are: Isolate Culture Collection number Origin (Location) Fatty acids saturated fatty acids polyunsaturated fatty acids monounsaturated fatty acids Temperature growth rate PAR UVB