Hello, I collected pure strain of Chlorella vulgaris from a laboratory. It is in liquid medium. As now is end of year, laboratory is going to be closed. So I need to preserve this pure strain for two weeks. But how will I do this?
I was suggested to keep it refrigerator. But in refrigerator there is no light when it is closed. Will it be a problem?
What is the suitable temperature for preserving microalgae?
A fridge would be OK for such a short duration. Alternatively, start a culture that is more dilute than you would normally inoculate it and keep in the lab as usual.
C. vulgaris will probably survive two weeks in the refrigerator but I would also do as Stefan recommended. I may also put some in screw-cap tubes and take them with me. This gives three back-ups.
Mr. Sarker
You can use BG 11 or FOGG's media in a cotton plugged or capped container to preserve them. I prefer to keep the light on in the cold storage.
Dear Nilay,
If your lab receives natural light during the day (12/12 or 8/16 hours per day, through the windows) there is no need to place the culture in a refrigerator or in a culture chamber.
We have no problem to perform like this in Brazil.
You can just place them near a window.
Kind regards,
Thaís
Just to add a comment to the excellent suggestions above: Dilute cultures at room temp should be fine for a couple of weeks, but if you do put an aliquot in the refrigerator it is best not to have much (if any) light. Cold temperatures can predispose to photoinhibition even at low photon flux.
Hi Nilay,
I dont think you have to refrigerate the strain. Prepare a agar slant with the medium you regularly use to cultivate the strain. Inoculate the strain and keep it in room temperature, with moderate light near window or something.
If light is not available, prepare a heterotrophic medium (like Nutrient agar) and inoculate. But use it only when you are sure, that your strain is axenic.
A very simple solution will be the one by , Stefan.
Good luck.
Hello everyone,
First of all thank you all for your valuable contribution. Your answers helped me a lot. Here is what I did and the result:
I kept the pure strain of microalgae at 5oC without light, actually I kept it in refrigerator. Before using them for research, it was there for more than 3 weeks and was completely fine. After using most of the samples, some portion of pure strain is still in refrigerator (it is more than 7 weeks now) and it looks fine. One of my friends said that, in this condition (4-5oC and without light), pure microalgae will be fine for 4-5 months (she learned it from a professor).
Hello, I have done the same method as Nilay, but after three weeks I wanted to reactivate the algae production, but all of the samples finally dead after transferring them from the refrigerator to the tank.
If anyone has any idea about how can I reactivate satisfactory the algae production after three weeks in the refrigerator I would be eternally grateful.
Thanks in advance,
Josep.
streak on agar and keep at room temperature under regular lighting or beside the window. It will last at least a month. For longer storage, keep it in the dark. You may leave your liquid culture under low light too....it will be fine for 2 weeks.
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