About the project
Hydrurus foetidus (Vill.) Trev. 1843 is a multicellular, arbuscular representative of the golden algae, appearing seasonally in cold rivers, typically in early spring season during snowmelt. The thallus may reach considerable dimensions, but under natural conditions a length of 3-10 cm is typical. This alga has a long history of scientific attention, because its size and morphological plasticity do not fit in among the typical golden algae – and the fragility of the thallus have resisted any attempt of bringing it into culture in liquid media, since Rostafinski first tried in 1882.
A molecular phylogeny has alredy been constructed based upon partial 18S and 28S rDNA sequences, without a definitive location among the chrysophytes – but securely located among the latter. We have solved the basic problems with culturing, but there remains a lot of thinking to design experimental conditions for the laboratory study of this obligate psychrophilic rheophile (= low-temperature and highturbulence-dependent organism).
Objectives
- Clear up the molecular phylogeny of a strain from Finse
- Collect and publish all information on Hydrurus from Norway
- Critically go through all published records of this sp. worlwide
- Based upon environmental information, bring a strain into culture
- Study the evolutionary conditioned plasticity expressed under different culture conditions