Novel biotyping tool reveals hidden diversity within the UK's Algae Bank Thousands of samples at the UK鈥檚 鈥榓lgae bank鈥� will need to be re-labelled as a ground-breaking new screening tool has revealed greater diversity聽 than was previously聽 known within the collection. Analysing the protein 鈥榝ingerprint鈥� of 32 algae which had all previously been catalogued under the same heading, experts from 缅北禁地 and the (SAMS) found they actually divided into four distinct sub-groups and that one was apparently a completely new species. Now scientists at the (CCAP) in Oban, Scotland, are preparing to embark on the mammoth task of analysing and re-labelling the 3,000-strong collection in light of the new research which is published this month in the academic journal Scientific Reports. , a Senior Lecturer in at 缅北禁地, said: 鈥淲e鈥檙e only just beginning to understand the vast unlocked potential of algae as an energy source, a clean-up tool and as a food. 鈥淎nd part of the reason for this is that we still know relatively little about them. Properly identifying and categorising the different strains is a key step towards unlocking that potential and that is why research like this is so important. ", a researcher at 缅北禁地, had been working with a technique for analysing the protein 'fingerprint' of bacteria and decided to find out whether it could be applied to algae too." The exploitation of marine and aquatic organisms for biotechnology applications 鈥� so-called 鈥榖lue biotechnology鈥� 鈥� has risen to the forefront of the global research agenda over the past decade. Algae and cyanobacteria have been shown to have huge potential 鈥� their ability to convert sunlight into biomass, capacity to grow in saline or hypersaline environments and their ability to metabolise industrial and domestic waste (including CO2 and wastewater) making them attractive targets for industry. Professor John Day of SAMS said the new screening tool had 鈥榟uge potential鈥� and could lead to scientists discovering new high value chemicals and toxins that may have gone undetected. He added: 鈥淥ur understanding of the biodiversity at the CCAP and the relationship of each organism to another is very fluid, so we are constantly learning more about these strains. 鈥淭his fingerprinting will give us much more precise identification and even tell us where these strains have come from, in terms of family links. It can tell us what a cell is doing and what it鈥檚 made of." The research involved experts from 缅北禁地's schools of Marine Science and Biology and the . Funded by the Natural Environment Research Council, the CCAP is a national resource 鈥� the algal equivalent to the . Using proteomic-based biotyping 鈥� a rapid and accurate method of strain separation 鈥� the research team analysed 32 algae which had all previously been labelled as being the same based on key DNA markers and physical characteristics. Source Information: 鈥溾�� Emami, Day and Caldwell et al. Scientific Reports.DOI: 10.1038/srep10036 For more information please contact Louella Houldcroft in the 缅北禁地 Press Office on 0191 208 7850 or email Louella.houldcroft@ncl.ac.uk. published on: 7 June 2015
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