Rbcl Marker Based Approach for Molecular Identification of Arthrospira and Dunaliella Isolates from Non-Axenic Cultures

Population escalation and energy crises have increased the urge to find renewable energy sources with higher sustainability index. Microalgae are potential candidates for biofuel feedstock production without utilizing fertile land and drinking water owing to their efficient oil production pathways and high value bio molecules. Morphological identification of potential microalgae species needs accurate molecular validation due to the versatility in nature, however PCR based molecular identification requires pure and axenic culture of isolates in universal primers based gene targets. In present study, monospecies algal culture were directly used to extract DNA followed by PCR amplification of 18S rDNA gene target using universal primers ITS1F-4R and rbcL gene target using primers designed for species specific gene. rbcL primers successfully amplified specific microalgae gene. Resulting sequences were annotated using multiple sequence alignment with Genebank databse and phylogenetic relationship study. These rbcL gene primers and validated PCR conditions can be used for non-axenic monospecies green microalgae isolates for easy and efficient molecular identification.

Keywords: Arthrospira ; Dunaliella; Microalgae; Molecular identification; non-axenic culture; rbcL gene marker.