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Algae Deposits

 

Part of the NCMA core mission is to receive and curate algae that are interesting or valuable to the scientific, educational and business communities. The NCMA maintains one of the largest and most diverse collection of publically available marine algal strains in the world.The algal strains in the collection have been obtained from all over the world: from polar to tropical waters, marine, freshwater, brackish, and hyper-saline environments, and currently consists of ~2400 strains of marine microalgae and ~1400 strains of marine macroalgae. New strains are added largely through the accession of strains deposited by scientists in the community.

A stringent accession policy is followed to help populate the collection with a taxonomically, geographically and ecologically diverse range of strains. Accessioning cultures presented in publications or have had their genomes/transcriptomes sequenced is always a priority. We try to minimize redundancy in the core collection (i.e. avoiding multiple strains of the same species from the same isolation location/time unless a good reason is presented) and look to cryopreservation as a preferred maintenance method; NCMA implemented a cryopreservation program in the early 1990's, and as of 2024, we have >1500 cryopreserved algal strains.

NCMA Accession Priorities. Below we list some general attributes we consider when making decisions about formally accessioning strains

  • Habitat (Marine strains are a priority, though we will accept algae from all habitats if they meet 2 – 3 of our other priorities).
  • Strains that are easy to cryopreserve.
  • Strains that are published.
  • Strains that have had their genome or transcriptome sequenced and the data is publically available.
  • Special properties/physiology. E.g., toxin producers, high lipid content, unusual pigmentation, other unusual natural products, and/or helps in the study of taxonomy or biodiversity (prioritizing groups listed below)
  • Taxonomic gaps. We wish to be relevant and current regarding algal taxonomy and tree of life initiatives, taxonomic philosophy, etc. Therefore we request newly described groups and species from the phycological community, and engage the phycological community for recommendations. Some gaps already described include newly described species and missing link species such as Paulinella, Apicomplexons and Apicomplexon-like organisms, and Euglenoids such as Rapaza viridis
  • Ecological gaps.  E.g., polar cyanophytes, polar dinoflagellates, open ocean organisms that are not picoplankton, and/or extremophiles
  • Geographical gaps. E.g., Bay of Bengal, Hudson Bay, Gulf of Alaska, Tierra del Fuego, Sea of Okhotsk, Mozambique Channel, Southern upwelling areas such as French Southern and Antarctic, Southern Ocean east of New Zealand, Greenland, Northern Russia, Northern Scandinavia, Northern Canada
  • Other (primarily marine) groups. E.g., Bacteria, Archaea, Non-Photosynthetic Protists, Macroalgae

Accession Requirements. When we accept strains from the community, the strain should be identified to the lowest taxonomic level possible, and preferrably the species level. Isolated Strains should be devoid of protozoa, fungi and other algae. Depositions should include standardized metainformation related to collection location (site, environmental/ecological data, date and collector), unique isolation information, identification (who identified the strain), known properties (e.g., toxicity, bioluminescence, pigments), and growth conditions (culture medium, temperature, salinity, etc.). If you are depositing Type Material, Please review our policy on type material.

All algal strains will be given a CCMP number upon successful accession. Strains deposited in the NCMA are available to the public, and they cannot be withdrawn from the collection by the depositor. To deposit a strain, please review the NCMA Deposit Terms and Conditions, return to NCMA@bigelow.org, and fill out the "Algal Deposit Form" below.


Submitting proposals that include specimen collection and management. Recent publications (e.g., Bentley et al. 2024) highlight the value and importance of having a robust speciment management plan as part of your scienctific procedures. Funding agencies have begun to more explicitly expanded their required Data Management Plans to include 'physical specimens' as well as more explicit 'data sharing' policies (e.g., NSF Division of Biology Data Management and Sharing Plan). If you are planning to submit a proposal that will require depositing newly isolated, or engineered, algal strains, you can download NCMA's Specimen Management Plan, complete it and return to NCMA. If you have questions in the process, please reach out to the NCMA Director directly to discuss your plans. This document meets the requirement of having had a discussion with the repository on where your valuable samples will be deposited should your proposal be funded.In addition, NCMA can provide you with boilerplate text on storage/security methods, visibility and sharing/distribution for your proposal, which is available here.


Algal Deposit Form

 

Shipping Biomaterials to NCMA. Upon completion of the deposit form, and its acceptance by NCMA curators, they will reach back out to you to arrange shipping. Note: we do not accept shipments on weekends or holidays so it is imperative to coordinate shipping with NCMA Curators. The address for shipping to NCMA is below.

Shipping Address:

      NCMA Curator - Algae Deposit
      National Center for Marine Algae and Microbiota
      Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences
      60 Bigelow Drive
      East Boothbay, ME 04544
      USA
      Phone: (001) 207-315-2567 x3