Rev. biol. mar. oceanogr. 49(3): 615-623

Research Note

Molecular and phylogenetic identification of an oil-producing strain of Nannochloropsis oceanica (Eustigmatophyceae) isolated from the southwestern Atlantic coast (Argentina)

Natalia Bongiovani¹, M. Virginia Sanchez-Puerta², Cecilia Popovich^1,3 and Patricia Leonardi^1,3

¹Laboratorio de Estudios Básicos y Biotecnológicos en Algas y Hongos (LEBBAH), Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida (CERZOS) –CONICET, Camino La Carrindanga, Km 7, 8000, Bahía Blanca, Argentina

²IBAM-CONICET, Instituto de Ciencias Básicas, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Alte. Brown 500, 5505, Chacras de Coria, Mendoza, Argentina

³Laboratorio de Ficología y Micología, Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia, Universidad Nacional del Sur, San Juan 670, 8000, Bahía Blanca, Argentina

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Screening of local microalgae species with potential for oil production is essential to achieve successful commercial large-scale cultures. In this study, identification of a South American species of Nannochloropsis was carried out using molecular and phylogenetic analyses of chloroplastic and nuclear genes, rcbL and 18S rDNA, respectively. The gene sequences for the studied strain were highly similar to other strains of Nannochloropsis oceanica (100% for 18S rDNA and 99.7% for rbcL) isolated from the Red Sea or Mediterranean Sea (Israel) and from the Pacific Ocean (Japan).

Key words:  Nannochloropsis oceanica, rcbL, 18S rDNA, oil