International research team discovers new family of freshwater microalgae

There is a new "family" of freshwater microalgae. The discovery was made by researchers from the University of Coimbra (UC), in collaboration with Charles University, Prague, the University of Ostrava (USA) and the Institute of Soil Biology of the Czech Academy of Sciences (Czech Republic).

The 3-year study allowed the identification and characterisation of these new genera of microalgae of commercial interest and the results have just been published in the Journal of Phycology.

Named Neomonodaceae, this new line of organisms belongs to the Eustigmatophyceae class, "whose biotechnological interest is recognised due to the fact that some species are rich in antioxidants, carotenoids and lipids of nutritional value and of interest for biodiesel. Like other families in the same class, the microalgae genera now discovered have the potential to give rise to compounds of pharmaceutical, cosmetic or aquaculture interest, for example," explains Raquel Amaral, first author of the published article.

"Microalgae are considered very promising for producing biotech compounds because they are easy to grow and do not require arable land, although production costs are still high." she points out.

The researcher from the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Coimbra (FCTUC), stresses that "the study of microalgae strains cultivated in the Coimbra Algae Collection (ACOI)", considered one of the largest collections of freshwater microalgae in the world, was crucial. "Seven strains from the ACOI contribute to this new genetic line of microalgae and form two of the new genera. We have given one of them the scientific name Munda, a Roman name for the Mondego River, as a tribute to the river from which most of these algae originate," she explains.

The study, which is part of the researcher's doctoral thesis, consisted of "morphological and genetic observations for the phylogenetic determination of 10 new strains, which led to the discovery of 3 new genera in this class. The species included in the new family are unicellular organisms with an elongated shape, most with a "foot" by which they are attached to the substrate. In addition to the genetic differences that separate them from the other families of Eustigmatophyceae, they are characterised by the absence of a cellular structure called a pyrenoid", describes Raquel Amaral, pointing out that "in the study of microalgae, genetic methods are crucial, since they are microscopic organisms and different species can often be very similar".

The Coimbra Algae Collection, installed at the Department of Life Sciences of FCTUC, is coordinated by scientist Lília Santos, one of the authors of this study and Raquel Amaral's PhD supervisor. The study was funded by the National Foundation of Science and Technology (FCT).

^{Translation by Diana Taborda}