9214131 Holton This award provides modest support to enable Professor Raymond Holton of the University of Tennessee to collaborate in marine botany research with Professor Wytze T. Stam of the Department of Marine Biology of the University of Groningen, The Netherlands. Their cooperative research will begin at the University of Tennessee with culturing of several strains of the microscopic marine alga, Phaeocystis, which were collected from different geographical regions. Dr. Holton will carry out several biochemical analyses on the alga, including pigment and fatty acid composition, and will observe the anatomical features via electron microscopy. He will then visit the University of Groningen to work for several months with Dr. Stam and others to sequence the ribosomal DNA genes in order to evaluate the genetic similarity among the strains. The Dutch group is one of the few in the world that has applied these new molecular biological techniques of ribosomal DNA sequencing to algae, so their experience is invaluable to the joint research. Phaeocystis is a cosmopolitan microscopic flagellated marine phytoplanktonic alga which also has a colonial stage. It is important in causing blooms in polar seas but also in producing sea foam which is a nuisance to fishing and oil industries and fouls the beaches of the North Sea. Various strains or species have been isolated from different parts of the world, but because of its extremely small size and uncertainties about its life cycle, it is not known how closely related these isolates are. The proposed collaborative research will contribute new knowledge concerning the genetic relationships and basic biochemistry of strains from several different geographical regions. It may also provide a basis for predicting the ecological "behavior" of the various strains and, ultimately, ameliorating some undesirable local impacts. ***
