Laboratory Handling of Didymosphenia geminata (Lyngbye) Schmidt and the Effect of Control Efforts on Viability

Didymosphenia geminata (Lyngbye) Schmidt is a type of diatom that exists in Chile as an introduced species, invading the country and its rivers. We collected samples of D. geminata from two sampling points in Chile, assessing their viability and response to control agents. Fresh D. geminata showed more than 90% of viable granular forms (containing granules in their cytoplasm); however, the dry form presents near 50% viability. By creating dry D. geminata through exposure to 38°C temperatures for 7 days, viability values of the granular form decreased to 20%. D. geminata kept at room temperature for more than 4 weeks reported values of granular forms at 50%, while samples that were refrigerated at 4°C maintained values of granular forms at 90% for 4 weeks. Previous studies suggest that high salt concentration affects the viability of D. geminata. When taking wet D. geminata samples and exposing them to a solution of 10% NaCl for 10 minutes, we observed no differences compared to the control samples, finding granular forms at 90%. When the D. geminata was exposed to a 5% soap solution, reductions of over 90% of the granular forms were observed. Our results suggest that the viability of D. geminata is associated with the granular content within their cytoplasm, and that it is possible to alter laboratory conditions for their study. These early studies are important in order to better manipulate the model in the laboratory, allowing us to obtain new evidence regarding the microalgae’s biology through in vitro studies.