ICBR Capacity: Biological Collections: Updates to the Operation of the Algal Resources Collection

有毒微藻具有严重的不良影响，从鱼类死亡到因食用被藻类毒素污染的贝类而引起的人类疾病。这些藻类的大量繁殖对渔业、贝类产业和旅游业的经济影响是毁灭性的。多年来，人们一直致力于研究检测、预防和管理有毒藻华的新方法，以减轻其生态和经济后果。藻类资源收集（ARC）是美国唯一的公共培养收集，专注于有毒或其他有害微藻物种的生长和维持，涵盖广泛的分类和地理范围。在ARC的许多物种是很难在其他公共收藏中找到的，包括一些在其他地方找不到的新物种描述中使用的菌株。ARC培养物已被国内和国际研究界广泛应用于各种学科领域的研究，包括生态学、分类学、系统发育学和毒理学。此外，ARC的研究人员和工作人员还参与了涉及不同教育水平的推广活动，包括K-12教师和学生，本科生，研究生和博士生。该项目通过实施自动成像流式细胞术和低温保存功能来支持ARC的操作更新，以提高日常活动的效率，更好地服务于研究界。图像流式细胞术将允许对培养物进行更有效的质量控制，并提供有关微藻菌株的额外信息（即形态计量数据、细胞生物量、最大细胞丰度、图像库），这些信息将在ARC网站上免费提供。低温保存的存储能力将使ARC的工作人员能够继续将菌株纳入收集，并带来许多优势，例如保护培养物免受遗传变化的影响，避免因转移过程中的错误而导致菌株的损失。该项目还扩大了ARC外展和教育活动的范围，通过开发一款教育电子游戏，提高K-12学生对有毒微藻的认识，教育孩子们减少水体的营养负荷以减少有毒藻华发生的频率和程度的重要性。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Toxic microalgae have serious adverse effects varying from fish kills to human illnesses caused by the consumption of shellfish contaminated with algal toxins. The economic impact from blooms of these algae can be devastating to fishing and shellfish industries and tourism. Over the years, much effort has been dedicated to researching new methods for the detection, prevention, and management of toxic algal blooms to mitigate their ecological and economic consequences. The Algal Resources Collection (ARC) is the only public culture collection in the U.S. focused on the growth and maintenance of toxic or otherwise harmful microalgal species covering a broad taxonomic and geographic range. Many of the species hosted at the ARC are challenging to find in other public collections and include strains used in the description of several new species that can be found nowhere else. The ARC cultures have been extensively used by the national and international research community in studies encompassing diverse subject areas, including ecology, taxonomy, phylogeny, and toxicology. Additionally, ARC researchers and staff are involved in outreach activities that involve various educational levels, including K-12 teachers and students, undergraduate, graduate and PhD students.This project supports updates to the operation of the ARC through the implementation of automated imaging flow cytometry and cryopreservation capability to increase the efficiency in the day-to-day activities and better serve the research community. The imagery flow cytometry will allow for more efficient quality control of the cultures and provide additional information on microalgal strains (i.e., morphometric data, cell biovolume, maximal cell abundance, image libraries) that will be made freely available on the ARC website. Cryopreservation storage capability will allow the ARC staff to continue incorporating strains into the collection and bring many advantages, such as protecting the cultures against genetic changes and avoiding loss of strains due to errors during transferences. The project also extends the scope of the ARC outreach and educational activities by increasing toxic microalgal awareness among K-12 students through the development of an educational e-game to teach kids about the importance of reducing the nutrient load to water bodies to decrease the frequency and magnitude of toxic blooms.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.