Visitors since Oct 2010

Introduction

The CAUP Culture Collection was established by B. Fott in 1961. The collection originated by merging a large number of green algal and heterokont cultures isolated by B. Fott with part of the former E.G. Pringsheim's algal culture collection. Presently, the culture collection holds 231 strains of algae and cyanobacteria, with a high proportion of authentic strains. 156 of them are now included in Image database. Since 1981, CAUP Culture Collection is a member of The World Federation for Culture Collections (WFCC) under No. 486. It is also included in The Federation of Czech and Slovak Culture Collections of Microorganisms (FCCM).


CAUP culture collection represents rather small algal collection. Nevertheles, it holds many taxonomically important strains, e.g. authentic cultures of newly described species. The leading idea of our culture collection is not to conserve a very broad range of organisms, but to serve as a platform for education and taxonomic research in our department. Plans for the near future include the introduction of cryopreservation techniques to preserve a large number of strains isolated during various taxonomic studies, and to continue in detailed image documentation of maintained strains. Moreover, we are currently digitalizing historically valuable permanent slides of mainly diatoms, desmids, etc. deposited in our collection, to make them available for the scientific community.

Basic statistics of deposited strains

Features and interests:     - Two thirds of deposited algae belong to green algal          classes Trebouxiophyceae and Chlorophyceae.     - Chlorella represents the most common cultured genus          (24 strains).     - Collection holds high proportion (32.5%) of authentic          strains.     - Chlorella vulgaris CAUP H1995, isolated in 1889,          represents the oldest maintained microalgal culture.     - CAUP culture collection holds the first Pringsheim's          isolate: Chlorella ellipsoidea CAUP H1990

 

New accessions:
K 609	Micrasterias furcata	Oorid Lough, Connemara, Ireland	29-11-2011
M 301	Picocystis salinarum	Lake Nakuru, Kenya	28-11-2011
M 302	Picocystis salinarum	Hot Springs at Lake Magadi, Kenya	28-11-2011
H 8201	Tetranephris brasiliensis	Lake Nakuru, Kenya	28-11-2011
H 2913	Monoraphidium dybowskii	Njoro River Nakuru, Kenya	28-11-2011
H 8301	Rhombocystis complanata	Ditch at Petit Coulibri, Commonwealth of Dominica	28-11-2011

Recent taxonomic updates:
K 606	Micrasterias semiradiata	formerly as Micrasterias truncata	29-11-2011
H 1983	Choricystis parasitica	formerly as Chlorella sorokiniana	13-12-2010
H 1984	Choricystis parasitica	formerly as Chlorella sorokiniana	13-12-2010
H 1904	Chloroidium ellipsoideum	formerly as Chlorella saccharophila var. ellipsoidea	01-07-2010
H 1949	Chloroidium ellipsoideum	formerly as Chlorella trebouxioides	01-07-2010
H 1999-1	Chloroidium ellipsoideum	formerly as Chlorella trebouxioides	01-07-2010
H 1912	Chloroidium saccharophilum	formerly as Chlorella saccharophila	01-07-2010
H 1990	Pseudochlorella pringsheimii	formerly as Chlorella ellipsoidea	01-07-2010