Long-term Preservation of Bloom-forming Cyanobacteria by Cryopreservation

Abstract

Long-term preservation of bloom-forming cyanobacteria was evaluated using cryopreservation and freeze-drying of nine strains belonging to four genera and seven species. All test strains, except Aphanizomenon flos-aquae NIER-10028, showed partial or complete survival following cryopreservation and freeze-drying- Frozen and freeze-dried strains were preserved for more than two years and were revived monthly. Most strains showed higher post-thaw viability after cryopreservation, especially without cryoprotectant compared to freeze-drying. Microcystis aeruginosa NIER-10010, M. viridis NIER-10020, M. ichthyoblabe NIER-10023, M. novacekii NIER-10029 and Oscillatoria sancta NIER-10027 were revived after 2.5 years of cryopreservation. These results suggest that cryopreservation may be an easy and timesaving long-term preservation method for bloom-forming cyanobacteria.