Strains of toxic and harmful microalgae, from waste water, marine, brackish and fresh water

Abstract

Some microalgae are economically important in Mexico and the world because they can be potentially toxic. Algal explosive population growths are named harmful algal blooms and are frequently recorded in Mexico. The authors set up potentially toxic microalgae cultures from the Gulf of Mexico (Garrapatas tideland, Barberena river, Carpintero lagoon in Tamaulipas State; Chalchoapan and Catemaco lakes in Veracruz State), from the Mexican Pacific Ocean, Guerrero, Colima and Michoacán States, and from interior water bodies such as Vicente Aguirre dam, Chapultepec lake and several waste water treatment plants. This research is about the diversity and abundance of phytoplankton in relation a specific site because of harmful algal bloom events. Microalgae cultures are useful in order to solve taxonomic problems, to know life cycles, molecular studies, for the study of toxic species, and the isolation of useful metabolites. The cultures for this research are clonal, non-axenic, semi-continuous, 12:12 light/dark photoperiod, 20 ± 1°C temperature and 90.5 µmol m⁻²s⁻¹ illumination. Four different culture media were used. This collection is open to the worldwide scientific community as a source of organisms in controlled conditions that can be used as a useful tool for microalgae research work.

Keywords:

• bioassay
• cell culture
• phycotoxins
• fish
• water

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr David Uriel Hernández Becerril from the Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, UNAM, for his supporting in the photography work.