The Biology of Microalgae - Biotechnological Applications of Microalgae - page 10

a b

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c

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FIGURE 2.1 (See color insert.) Morphological diversity of microalgae: (a) Mastogloia
paradoxa Grun., (b) Rhabdonema adriatium Ktz., (c) Synedra gruvei Grun.

a b c

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d e f

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FIGURE 2.2 (See color insert.) Morphological diversity of microalgae: (a) Chaetoceros
orientalis Schiller, (b) Nitzschia draveillensis Coste & Ricard, (c) Pleurosigma formosum
Wm. Smith, (d) Coscinodiscus janischii var. arafurensis Grun., (e) Cocconeis scutellum
Ehrenb., (f) (f) Podocystis spathulata (Shadbolt) Van Heurck.

Baker et al., 1999) and as a powerful tool for assessing the genetic diversity of
environmental samples (Van Waasberngen et al., 2000; Baker et al., 2001). Apart
from detecting genetic diversity, molecular tools may also help in detecting the
spatial repartition of an organism, both in marine and freshwater microalgae. PCR-
based methods are more commonly utilized due to their rapid results. They have
been successfully used to detect the genetic make-up of various natural samples.