Cold-tolerant strain of Haematococcus pluvialis (Haematococcaceae, Chlorophyta) from Blomstrandhalvøya (Svalbard)

Abstract

A new cold-adapted Arctic strain of Haematococcus pluvialis from Blomstrandhalvøya Island (Svalbard) is described. This strain is predominantly always in non-motile palmelloid stage. Transmission electron microscopy showed the presence of very thick cell wall and abundant lipid vesicles in the palmelloids, including red and green cells. The external morphology of the non-motile palmelloid and motile bi-flagellated cells of our strain is similar to H. pluvialis; however it differs from H. pluvialis in physiology. Our strain is adapted to live and produce astaxanthin in the low temperature (4- 10°C), whilst the usual growth temperature for H. pluvialis is between 20-27°C. Phylogenetic analysis based on 18S rRNA gene data showed that our strain nested within the Haematococcus group, forming a sister relationship to H. lacustris and H. pluvialis, which are considered synonymous. Therefore, we identified our Arctic strain as H. pluvialis. © The Korean Society of Phycology.