Microalgae as Hygiene Indicators of Potable Water: The tip of the iceberg
Microalgae as Hygiene Indicators of Potable Water: The tip of the iceberg
Masoumeh Jalilian,1Niloufar Daraei,2Zohreh Haidari,3Namdar Yousofvand,4Isaac Karimi,5,*
1. Brown Biotechnology team, Laboratory of Central-Biology 1220, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Razi University, Kermanshah, Islamic Republic of Iran 2. Brown Biotechnology team, Laboratory of Central-Biology 1220, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Razi University, Kermanshah, Islamic Republic of Iran 3. Brown Biotechnology team, Laboratory of Central-Biology 1220, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Razi University, Kermanshah, Islamic Republic of Iran 4. Brown Biotechnology team, Laboratory of Central-Biology 1220, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Razi University, Kermanshah, Islamic Republic of Iran 5. Brown Biotechnology team, Laboratory of Central-Biology 1220, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Razi University, Kermanshah, Islamic Republic of Iran
Introduction: Microalgae are ubiquitous organisms that found in all fresh water sources and possess some medical issue. Since some microalgae lead to neurotoxicity or other organ toxicities, the purification and clarification of potable water to delete these organisms would be a crucial step to prepare clean and disinfected fresh water. Despite chlorination of civil water, some of these organisms may be become resistant to common disinfection methods and lead to organ toxicities following chronic intake. The goal of this study was to identify the microalgae that found in the tap water of our laboratories that supplied by well water.
Methods: Tap water (2 ml) has been centrifuged at 5,000 rpm and the clear pellet has been harvested and smeared and observed under light microscope 40X. The images of isolated microalgae were identified using available literature and databases. The indices of taxonomy, morphology, and morphometry have been employed to identify isolated microalgae.
Results: Through laborious work, a myriad of Cryptophyta and Haptophyta spp. have been isolated from spatial and temporal samplings of tap water.
Conclusion: Since microalgae possess an array of bio-compounds with unknown pathobiological effects and they are resistant to common disinfection methods, more purification strategies, investigations, and policies are acknowledged to understand their medical importance.