Aquatic Species Program - Aftermath

Aftermath

National Renewable Energy Laboratory scientists isolated around 3,000 algae species. Fifty-one varieties were characterized as potential high-value strains, but fewer than half of those remain.

A few hundred strains were in storage at the University of Hawaii, which for years, every two months, transferred, “passaged”, them to new nutrient-rich test tubes. When a National Science Foundation grant ran out in 2004, maintaining the collection became impractical.

A review released earlier this year found that more than half the genetic legacy had been lost. 23 of the 51 strains that were extensively studied during the program survive. The losses to the rest of the algal cultures have been even worse.

“The really bloody shame is that of those 3,000, there are maybe 100 to 150 strains that remain at the University of Hawaii,” said Al Darzins, who heads up the resurgent algal biofuels research program at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.