New microalgae with potential value found in a home aquarium

30 Jan. () –

By analyzing DNA samples, researchers at the University of Tokyo discovered a new species of microalgae in the water of a home aquarium. Its sequence did not match any recorded.

This new species, Medakamo hakoo, It is the smallest known freshwater green algae.with inherent qualities that allow it to be grown stably at high density, which means that it could be effectively used to make useful products for food and industry.

These various aquatic organisms feed on water, light, and nutrients, and they come in all shapes, colors, and sizes. Microalgae are an ultra-small type of algae invisible to the naked eye, but they are a vital part of the terrestrial ecosystem and form the basis of all aquatic food chains. They have especially attracted the attention of researchers and companies for their ability to capture carbon dioxide, their use as biofuel, as an alternative source of protein, etc. There are tens of thousands of types of microalgae, which continue to proliferate in unsuspected places.

“We were very surprised to discover a new species of microalgae in a normal home aquarium,” he explains. it’s a statement Professor Sachihiro Matsunaga, from the Higher School of Frontier Sciences. “Algae were removed from the water and cultured one by one. The DNA from the algae was stained with fluorescence and looked at under a microscope to find the one with the least amount of DNA per cell. We then sequenced the DNA from that algae and we compared it to DNA from other algae. The results did not match DNA from any previously described algae, indicating that it was a new species, and we named it Medakamo hakoo (M. hakoo).”

Microalgae are made up of relatively few genes, and this uncomplicated shape makes them useful for researchers trying to identify what roles different genes play and how they might be used. Of the tens of thousands of known microalgae, many remain uncharacterized. Thanks to this latest study, we now know that it is not only a new species, but also it has the smallest known genome of any freshwater algae, as well as other useful qualities.

“M. hakoo only contains one mitochondrion (to produce energy) and one chloroplast (which contains chlorophyll and creates food through photosynthesis), whereas normal plant cells contain multiple mitochondria and chloroplasts. This indicates that it is a green algae with an extremely simple cell structure,” Matsunaga explains.

POTENTIAL VALUE

“From our research, we have also speculated that it has an unprecedented DNA structure and novel gene regulatory system. Its cell cycle is also strongly synchronized with the day and night cycle, which is key for efficient and stable bioproduction.” Due to these inherent qualities and its extremely small size, M. hakoo can be grown efficiently at high cell density, allowing substances such as highly functional foods, cosmetics and biofuels to be mass-produced at low cost“.

The researchers plan to continue exploring the potential applications of M. hakoo, both in the laboratory and in the rest of the world. “Aquatic green algae are the parent organisms of today’s land plants. Thanks to this research, we can better understand the minimum number of genes required for an organism to evolve and thrive in various environments, something we will continue to study,” says Matsunaga. “In the future, I would like to find ways to collaborate and create useful substances from the mass culture of M. hakoo.”