2000 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

Effects of environmental stresses on genetic diversity in microalgae

Research Project

Project/Area Number	10680529
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Section	一般
Research Field	環境影響評価(含放射線生物学)
Research Institution	National Institute for Environmental Studies
Principal Investigator	KASAI Fumie National Institute for Environmental Studies, Environmental Biology Division, Leader, 生物圏環境部, 室長 (70224376)
Project Period (FY)	1998 – 2000
Keywords	Closterium / Microalgae / Environmental stress / Genetic variation / Allozyme
Research Abstract	Genetic diversity of a population is considered as one of the factors which determine whether or not organisms could conquer anthropogenic environmental stresses. Maintenance of genetic variations in populations is affected by the source of variation and population size. In this study. I examined genetic variation in local populations of the conjugating green alga Closterium ehrenbergii isolated from paddy fields, where herbicides were assumed to be applied, and from other shallow water pools like ponds and lowland wetlands, where herbicides were not assumed to be applied. Allozyme variation was observed in the populations isolated from lowLand wetlands in Okinawa lsl. , whereas the variation was not observed in the populations isolated from paddy fields in Yaeyama lsls, where herbicides were assumed to be applied. These results suggest that an environmental stress like a herbicide could reduce genetic variation in microalgal populations.

(1 results)