Papers by Christine Campbell
Scientific Reports, 2015
Micro-algae synthesize high levels of lipids, carbohydrates and proteins photoautotrophically, th... more Micro-algae synthesize high levels of lipids, carbohydrates and proteins photoautotrophically, thus attracting considerable interest for the biotechnological production of fuels, environmental remediation, functional foods and nutraceuticals. Currently, only a few micro-algae species are grown commercially at large-scale, primarily for "health-foods" and pigments. For a range of potential products (fuel to pharma), high lipid productivity strains are required to mitigate the economic costs of mass culture. Here we present a screen concentrating on marine micro-algal strains, which if suitable for scale-up would minimise competition with agriculture for water. Mass-Spectrophotometric analysis (MS) of nitrogen (N) and carbon (C) was subsequently validated by measurement of total fatty acids (TFA) by Gas-Chromatography (GC). This identified a rapid and accurate screening strategy based on elemental analysis. The screen identified Nannochloropsis oceanica CCAP 849/10 and a marine isolate of Chlorella vulgaris CCAP 211/21A as the best lipid producers. Analysis of C, N, protein, carbohydrate and Fatty Acid (FA) composition identified a suite of strains for further biotechnological applications e.g. Dunaliella polymorpha CCAP 19/14, significantly the most productive for carbohydrates, and Cyclotella cryptica CCAP 1070/2, with utility for EPA production and N-assimilation.
Cryopreservation of Phaeocystis antarctica
Cryo letters
A large number of clonal isolates of the prymnesiophyte Phaeocystis antarctica have been establis... more A large number of clonal isolates of the prymnesiophyte Phaeocystis antarctica have been established at the Alfred Wegener Institute in Bremerhaven, Germany, to address questions on the genetic diversity and ecological response patterns to climate change. However, at present the wider scientific community cannot access these strains and their long-term conservation, (currently by serial transfer), cannot be assured. Cryopreservation could provide the solution to these issues, as it would guarantee the long-term security of this genetically and ecological invaluable collection. This study outlines the successful application of conventional approaches and the use of novel, combined non-penetrating and penetrating cryoprotective strategies that have been successfully applied to the different life-stages of this alga.
Systematics and Biodiversity, 2013
The roles of Biological Resource Centres (BRCs), such as the Culture Collection of Algae and Prot... more The roles of Biological Resource Centres (BRCs), such as the Culture Collection of Algae and Protozoa (CCAP), have extended beyond their traditional maintenance and provision of curated microorganisms to the user community. A major driver for change has been the exponential increase in metagenomics and environmental sequencing data over the last few years. This has underlined a critical requirement for molecular information on reference biological materials, which would allow better taxonomic interpretation, greater biological understanding and additional exploitation of these data. This is especially relevant for the relatively poorly studied protists (algal/autotrophic as well as heterotrophic) and prokaryotic cyanobacteria, which despite their huge biodiversity, reflected in the genomic data that has been generated, are underrepresented in BRCs worldwide. Here we describe the functionalities of the Culture Collection of Algae and Protozoa (CCAP) KnowledgeBase (http://www.ccap.ac.uk), developed as a one-stop shop for quality-controlled biological material, hyperlinked to manually curated molecular, bibliographic and taxonomic information. This has been built around the CCAP live collection, which constitutes one of the most genotypically diverse collections in the world with representatives of all the major eukaryotic lineages and the cyanobacteria.
Organic Geochemistry, 2005
A catalytic hydropyrolysis procedure was developed for rapidly assessing the relative abundances ... more A catalytic hydropyrolysis procedure was developed for rapidly assessing the relative abundances and variety of different biomarker lipid structures in microbial cultures by reductively converting free functionalised and polymeric lipids within whole cells into hydrocarbons. High pressure hydrogen gas and a molybdenum catalyst were used to target and cleave carbon-oxygen covalent bonds (particularly ester, alcohol, acid and ether) and the pyrolysis process was conducted in an open-system reactor configuration to minimise structural and stereochemical rearrangements in the products. A revised experimental protocol, involving a modified catalyst-loading procedure, careful use of a silica support substrate and a revised temperature program was tested and optimised for handling biomass. Partial hydrogenation of double bonds inevitably did occur although it was found that some unsaturation was preserved, particularly within branched and polycyclic hydrocarbon structures. This experimental approach aids our ability to optimally correlate fossil biomarker signals found in the sedimentary record with their lipid precursors found in extant organisms. Our technique complements more rigorous, but time-consuming, chemical approaches used for elucidating the exact chemical structures of intact functionalised lipids by providing a rapid means by which to screen microbial cultures.
Nova Hedwigia, 2004
The major service culture collections of algae form the "backbone" of the curatorial and service ... more The major service culture collections of algae form the "backbone" of the curatorial and service roles for the phycological community as a whole. Four of the largest culture collections, Culture Collection of Algae at the Laboratory of Algology (CCALA) in the Czech Republic, Culture Collection of Algae and Protozoa (CCAP) in the UK, Culture Collection of Algae at Göttingen University (SAG) in Germany, and Culture Collection of Algae at the University of Texas at Austin (UTEX) in the USA can all trace their origins back to the pioneering work of Prof. E.G. Pringsheim. His work and the inspiration he provided to others have ensured that these collections continue to develop to fulfill the requirements of current and future generations of phycologists. This article discusses the historical developments, synergies, and ongoing contributions of these four algal collections.
European Journal of Phycology, 2004
A new chloroplast-containing species of the sand-dwelling benthic dinoflagellate Thecadinium was ... more A new chloroplast-containing species of the sand-dwelling benthic dinoflagellate Thecadinium was isolated and cultured from a single cell collected from shallow waters of the marine Loch Ewe in North West Scotland. The cultured cells are described by light and scanning electron microscopy and the genetic affinities examined by comparison of ribosomal RNA gene sequences. Thecadinium foveolatum Bolch sp. nov. is heavily armoured with thecal plates that are ornamented with evenly distributed pores and contains numerous globular, dark golden-brown chloroplasts. Cells are broadly ovoid and slightly laterally compressed, with a descending cingulum displaced approximately half of the cell width. The thick thecal plates, numerous pores and the strongly displaced cingulum clearly differentiate this species from the only other chloroplastcontaining species, T. kofoidii, and the remaining non-photosynthetic Thecadinium species described. Analysis of largesubunit rDNA sequences of Thecadinium foveolatum and other members of the Peridiniphycidae indicate that this new species is allied to the gonyaulacalean lineage rather than the peridinialean taxa included in the analyses.
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Papers by Christine Campbell