SNP BASED GENETIC MARKER ON 18S RRNA GENE FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF MICROALGAE

• Main Author: Mustakhlif, Abdul
• Format: Final Project
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/52291
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Microalgae are microscopic organisms that have the ability to photosynthesize, live in waters, and have many benefits for human life. One of the countries that is rich in microalgae in land and sea waters is Indonesia, which also has a high level of microalgae biodiversity with various potentials that can be exploited. With the variety of microalgae species that exist, there are still many of them that have not been identified. The physical similarities between microalgae species make morphological identification quite difficult to do so that a more precise way is needed to identify at the species level, one of which is by using genetic markers such as the 18S rRNA gene. This study aims to identify Indonesian marine microalgae, as well as to build a SNP database (single nucleotide polymorphisms) on the 18S rRNA gene which is a diagnostic tool for microalgae identification to the species level. Indonesian marine microalgae samples were grown in f/2 medium, then morphologically identified under a light microscope. To build the SNP database, the 18S rRNA gene data from various microalgae was downloaded from a public database, then analyzed using the ClustalW multiple alignment program on BioEdit software to obtain SNPs. Observations through light microscopy showed that there were similarities in the morphology of the B2 microalgae samples with Skeletonema sp. and B4 microalgae samples with Thalassiosira weissflogii. The results of downloading data obtained 1185 18S rRNA gene sequences from 187 species and 31 microalgae genera. The results of gene analysis showed that there were diagnostic SNPs that could potentially be used to identify most microalgae species.