About UTEX

Mailing Address

UTEX Culture Collection of Algae
205 W. 24th St., Biological Labs 218
The University of Texas at Austin (A6700)
Austin, TX 78712 USA

Business Office

Hours: 7:00 AM - 4:00 PM CST
Monday-Friday (excluding Holidays)
Phone: (512) 471-4019
Fax: (512) 471-0354
Email: info.utex@utexas.edu

History and Description

The Culture Collection of Algae at the University of Texas at Austin (UTEX) is a successor to an algal collection assembled in the 1920s by E.G. Pringsheim. The founder and first Director of UTEX, Dr. Richard C. Starr studied with Pringsheim in 1953 at Cambridge, University, where he was provided nearly 400 strains of green algae that were the basis of the Indiana University Culture Collection of Algae (IUCC). This collection of living algae was expanded, diversified, and relocated to The University of Texas at Austin where it was established as an Organized Research Unit in 1976.

UTEX is one of only a handful of curated, public, biodiversity collections of living algae in the world and one of only two in the U.S. The UTEX Collection is one of the most genetically diverse assemblages of organisms available to the public and many of the algae UTEX maintains are unique and irreplaceable. It currently maintains over 3,000 unique strains of algae and includes more than 1,500 named species and 450 type species. UTEX is a repository and distribution center for algal biodiversity. Every year UTEX distributes thousands of living algal cultures and related materials, at modest cost, to scientists, educators, and students throughout the U.S. and the world.

The UTEX mission is to promote, support, and enable the use of algae for research, education, and practical applications. In order to fulfill its mission, UTEX provides living algae to a user community at modest cost; serves as a permanent public repository of newly discovered and recently described algal species of potential value representing a broad range of genetic, morphological and biochemical diversity; acts as a source of information regarding algae to practicing scientists, other professionals, and the interested public; promotes and supports local science teaching and hands-on scientific activities by school children; and provides practical training services, support services, and supplies that facilitate culturing of algae at other sites.

Principal financial support for UTEX is obtained through the sale of cultures and other goods and services to the user community. Additional support is provided through the U.S. National Science Foundation and the College of Natural Sciences of The University of Texas at Austin.

UTEX Laboratory Fall 2023 | UTEX Culture Collection of Algae

UTEX Culture Collection of Algae | Fall 2023

[Left-to-right] - Stephen Peña (UTEX Culture Collection Manager), Leah Zewdu, Zoe Tijerina, Jian Gao (UTEX Facilities Manager), Kathryn Britz, Dr. Matt Ashworth, Yasna Khoshbakht, Helen Khodabandeh (UTEX Business Manager), Katia Hernandez, Brian Matibag, Dr. David Nobles (UTEX Curator)

Dr. David R. Nobles, Jr.

UTEX Curator

Dr. David R. Nobles, Jr. earned a Ph.D. in Botany from the University of Texas at Austin in 2006. He studied under Dr. R. Malcolm Brown, Jr., a noted phycologist, microscopist, cell biologist, and leading cellulose researcher. During his time in the R. Malcolm Brown, Jr. Laboratory, Dr. Nobles became familiar with diverse algae via the study of cell wall biosynthesis. His doctoral research focused on the cell biology, molecular biology, and biotechnological aspects of cellulose biosynthesis by cyanobacteria. He received the Outstanding Dissertation Award for his dissertation entitled "Cellulose in the Cyanobacteria". His postdoctoral research focused on the development of cyanobacteria as sources for biofuel feedstocks. To date, he has developed methods for the cyanobacterial production of cellulose, glucose, and sucrose. Dr. Nobles is a co-author of multiple patents based on this research and is a founding member of Phykotek, Inc., a startup company dedicated to the production of cyanobacterial feedstocks. His current research interests include expanding the number of sequenced algal genomes; the development of novel algal systems for genetic and metabolic engineering; utilizing the amazing diversity of algae for biotechnological applications including the production of pharmaceuticals, biomass, and biofuels; and the use of algae for CO₂ mitigation.

Selected Publications

Cole G, Greene J, Quinn J, McDaniel B, Kemp L, Simmons D, Hodges T, Nobles D, Weiss T, McGowen J, McDaniel S. (2023) Integrated techno-economic and life cycle assessment of a novel algae-based coating for direct air carbon capture and equestration. Journal of CO2 Utilization. 69:102421. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcou.2023.102421.

Gao S, Pittman K, Edmundson E, Huesemann M, Greer M, Louie W, Chen P, Nobles D, Benemann J, Crowe B. (2023) A newly isolated alkaliphilic cyanobacterium for biomass production with direct air CO2 capture. Journal of CO2 Utilization. 69:102399. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcou.2023.102399.

Nelson DR, Hazzouri KM, Lauersen KL, Jaiswal A, Chaiboonchoe A, Mystikou A, Fu W, Daakour S, Dohai B, Alzahmi A, Nobles D, Hurd M, Sexton J, Preston MJ, Blanchette J, Lomas MW, Amiri KMA, Salehi-Ashtiani K. (2021) Large-scale genome sequencing reveals the driving forces of viruses in microalgal evolution. Cell Host & Microbe 29(2):250-266.e8. doi: 10.1016/j.chom.2020.12.005.

Yamagishi T, Yamaguchi H, Suzuki S, Yoshikawa M, Jameson I, Lorenz M, Nobles DR, Campbell C, Seki M, Kawachi M, Yamamoto H. (2020) Comparative genome analysis of test algal strain NIVA-CHL1 (Raphidocelis subcapitata) maintained in microalgal culture collections worldwide. PLoS One 15(11):e0241889. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0241889. PMID: 33166324.

Boundy-Mills K, McCluskey K, Elia P, Glaeser JA, Lindner DL, Nobles DR Jr, Normanly J, Ochoa-Corona FM, Scott JA, Ward TJ, Webb KM, Webster K, Wertz JE. (2019) Preserving U.S. Microbe Collections Sparks Future Discoveries. J Appl Microbiol. (2):162-174. doi: 10.1111/jam.14525. Epub 2019 Dec 12. PMID: 31758754; PMCID: PMC7383923.

McInnis B, Hurt J, McDaniel S, Kemp L, Hodges Y, Nobles D. (2019) Carbon Capture Coatings: Proof Of Concept Results And Call To Action. Coatings World. 24(7):82-91.

Aly M, Selahi A, Zoromba M, Mekki L, El-Bana M, Dosoky N, Nobles D, Shafik H. (2019) A droplet-based gradient microfluidic to monitor and evaluate the growth of Chlorella vulgaris under different levels of nitrogen and temperatures. Algal Res 44: 101657.

Saad M, Dosoky N, Khan M, Zoromba M, Mekki L, El-Bana M, Nobles D, Shafik H. (2019) High-Throughput Screening of Chlorella Vulgaris Growth Kinetics inside a Droplet-Based Microfluidic Device under Irradiance and Nitrate Stress Conditions. Biomolecules. 9(7): pii: E276.

Nobles D, Manning S. 2019. Extraction and Characterization of Lipids from Macroalgae in Microbial Lipid Production: Methods and Protocols. Springer, New York, p 131.

Yang Y, Lam V, Adomako M, Simkovsky R, Jakobj A, Rockwelle N, Cohena S, Taton A, Wang J, Lagariase J, Wilde A, Nobles D, Brand J, Golden S. (2018) Phototaxis in a wild isolate of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus. PNAS 115(52):E12378-E12387.

Manning S, Nobles D. (2017) Impact of Global Warming on Water Toxicity: Cyanotoxins, Current Opinion in Food Science. Elsevier, 18:14.

McCluskey K, Barker KB, Barton H, Boundy-Mills K, Brown DR, Coddington J, Cook K, Desmeth P, Dias M, Duke C, Geiser D, Glaeser JA, Green S, Kang S, Lomas M, Melcher U, Miller S, Nobles D, Reichman J, Schindel D, da Silva M, Wertz J, Withworth C, Smith D. (2017) The US Culture Collection Network responding to the requirements of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing. mBio 8:e00982-17.

McCluskey K, Alvarez A, Bennett R, Bokati D, Boundy Mills K, Brown D, Bull C, Coffey M, Dreaden T, Duke C, Dye G, Ehmke E, Eversole K, Fenstermacher K, Geiser D, Hanser K, Humber R, Johnson B, Kermode A, Krichevsky M, Laudon M, Leach J, Leslie J, May M, Mecher U, Nobles D, Fonseca N, Robinson S, Ryan M, Scott J, Silflow C, Vidaver A, Webb K, Wertz J, Yentsch S, Zehr S. (2016) The US Culture Collection Network lays the foundation for progress in preservation of valuable microbial resources. Phytopathology. 106(6):532-40.

Boundy-Mills K, Hess M, Bennett AR, Ryan M, Kang S, Nobles D, Eisen JA, Inderbitzin P, Sitepu IR, Torok T, Brown DR, Cho J, Wertz JE, Mukherjee S, Cady SL, McCluskey K. (2015) The United States Culture Collection Network (USCCN): Enhancing Microbial Genomics Research through Living Microbe Culture Collections. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 81(17): 5671.

Higgins B, Nobles D, Ma Y, Wikoff W, Kind T, Fiehn O, Brand J, VanderGheynst J. (2015) Informatics for improved algal taxonomic classification and research: a case study of UTEX 2341. Algal Research. 12: 545.

McCluskey K, Bates S, Boundy-Mills K, Broggiato A, Cova A, Desmeth P, DebRoy C, Fravel D, Garrity G, Jiménez Gasco M, Joseph L, Linder D, Lomas M, Morton J, Nobles D, Turner J, Ward T, Wertz J, Wiest A, and Geiser D. (2014) Meeting Report: 2nd Workshop of the United States Culture Collection Network. May 19-21, 2014, State College, PA, USA. Standards in Genomic Sciences 9(1):27.

Brand J, Nobles D, Andersen R. (2013) Maintenance of Microalgae in Culture Collections in Handbook of microalgal culture: applied phycology and biotechnology. Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester, p 80.

Nobles D and Brown R. (2009) Transgenic expression of Gluconacetobacter xylinus strain ATCC 53582 cellulose synthase genes in the cyanobacterium Synechococcus leopoliensis strain UTCC 100. Cellulose 15: 691.

Monteiro C, Saxena I, Wang X, Kader A, Bokranz W, Simm R, Nobles D, Chromek M, Brauner A, Brown RM Jr, Römling U. (2009) Characterization of cellulose production in Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 and its biological consequences. Environmental Microbiology 11:1105.

Nobles D and Brown R. (2007) Many Paths up the Mountain: Tracking the Evolution of Cellulose Biosynthesis, Cellulose: Molecular and Structural Biology. Springer, The Netherlands, p 1.

Nobles D and Brown R. (2004) The Pivotal Role of Cyanobacteria in the Evolution of Cellulose Synthases and Cellulose Synthase-Like Proteins. Cellulose, 11: 437.

Nobles D, Romanovicz D, Brown R. (2001) Cellulose in the Cyanobacteria. Origin of Vascular Plant Cellulose Synthase? Plant Physiology, 127:529.

Dr. David R. Nobles, Jr. Patents

Title	Patent Number	Year Filed	Inventors
Expression of Foreign Cellulose Synthase Genes in Photosynthetic Prokaryotes (Cyanobacteria)	20080113413	2007	R. Malcolm Brown, Jr. David R. Nobles, Jr.
Transgenic cyanobacteria: A novel direct secretion of glucose for the production of biofuels	20080085520	2007	R. Malcolm Brown, Jr. David R. Nobles, Jr.
Controlled, direct secretion of sucrose by cyanobacteria for the production of biofuels and plastics	20080124767	2007	R. Malcolm Brown, Jr. David R. Nobles, Jr.
A cellulose producing marine cyanobacterium for ethanol production	20080085536	2007	R. Malcolm Brown, Jr. David R. Nobles, Jr.

Dr. Matt P. Ashworth

Dr. Matt P. Ashworth finished his Ph.D in Plant Biology from the University of Texas, Austin in 2013, investigating the evolution of benthic marine diatoms. His research interest in the diversification and speciation of algae have remained focused on diatoms, one of the most speciose and widespread groups of eukaryotic microbes. He has been describing the morphological, molecular, cytological and ecological diversity of diatoms to look for patterns and processes behind their diversification. This work has spanned from subtidal habitats and coral reefs in tropical and subtropical habitats, where diatoms have been less well-studied historically, to the surfaces of marine megafauna, which host diatoms found no where else in the world.

Selected Publications

Patricia A. Sims, Matt P. Ashworth, Edward C. Theriot & Schonna R. Manning. 2023. Molecular and morphological analysis of Biddulphia sensu lato: a new diagnosis of Biddulphia, with a description of the new genera Biddulphiella and Neobrightwellia. Marine Micropaleontology 178: 102186. DOI: 10.1016/j.marmicro.2022.102186

Christopher S. Lobban, Matt P. Ashworth, Terance Camacho, Daryl W. Lam & Edward
C. Theriot. 2022. Revision of Ardissoneaceae (Bacillariophyta, Mediophyceae) from Micronesian populations, with descriptions of two new genera, Ardissoneopsis
and Grunowago, and new species in Ardissonea, Synedrosphenia and Climacosphenia. PhytoKeys. DOI: 10.3897/phytokeys.208.89913.

Shiho Kamakura, Matt Ashworth, Kazumasa Yamada, Daichi Mikami, Atsushi Kobayashi, Masahiko Idei & Shinya Sato. 2022. Morphological plasticity in response to salinity change in a the euryhaline diatom Pleurosira laevis (Bacillariophyta). Journal of Phycology. Online Early View. DOI: 10.1111/jpy.13277

Matt P. Ashworth, Roksana Majewska, Thomas Frankovich, Michael Sullivan, Sunčica Bosak, Klara Filek, Bart Van de Vijver, Mike Arendt, Jeffrey Schwenter, Ronel Nel, Nathan J. Robinson, Meagan Gary, Edward C. Theriot, Nicole I. Stacy, Daryl W. Lam, Justin R. Perrault, Charles A. Manire, & Schonna R. Manning. 2022. Culturing putatively obligate epizoic diatoms: insights for the evolution and ecology of diatoms and their host. Scientific Reports 12:15116. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-19064-0

Irena Kaczmarska, James M. Ehrman & Matt P. Ashworth. 2022. Sexual reproduction and auxospore development in the diatom known as Biddulphia biddulphiana. PLoS ONE 17(9): e0272778. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0272778

Marcelo Malisano Barreto Filho, Melissa Walker, Matt P. Ashworth & J. Jeffrey Morris. 2021. Structure and long-term stability of the microbiome in diverse diatom cultures. Microbiology Spectrum 9: e00269-21. DOI: 10.1128/Spectrum.00269-21

David G. Mann, Rosa Trobajo, Shinya Sato, Chunlian Li, Andrzej Witkowski, Frederic Rimet, Matt P. Ashworth, Ruth M. Hollands & Edward C. Theriot. 2021. Ripe for reassessment: a synthesis of available molecular data for the speciose diatom family Bacillariaceae. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 158: 106985. DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2020.106985

Roksana Majewska, Matt P. Ashworth, Sunčica Bosak, William Goosen, Christopher Nolte, Klara Filek, Bart Van de Vijver, Jonathan C. Taylor, Schonna R. Manning & Ronel Nel. 2021. On sea turtle-associated Craspedostauros (Bacillariophyta), with description of three novel species. Journal of Phycology 57(1): 199-281. DOI:10.1111/jpy.13086

Johannes W. Goessling, Vijaya Shanti Paula, Ana Santiagoa, Matt Ashworth, Schonna R. Manning and Martin Lopez Garcia. 2020. Biosilica slab photonic crystals as an alternative to cleanroom fabrication. Faraday Discussions 223: 261-267. DOI: 10.1039/d0fd00031k

Andrzej Witkowski, Matt Ashworth, Chunlian Li, Ibrahima Sagna, Diomaye Yatte, Ewa Górecka, Andréa Franco, Wolf-Henning Kusber, Georgia Klein, Horst Lange-Bertalot, Przemysław Dąbek, Edward C. Theriot & Schonna R. Manning. 2020. Exploring Diversity, Taxonomy and Phylogeny of Diatoms (Bacillariophyta) from Marine Habitats. Novel Taxa with Internal Costae. Protist 171(2): 125713. DOI: 10.1016/j.protis.2020.125713

Thomas A. Frankovich, Matt P. Ashworth, Michael J. Sullivan, Edward C. Theriot & Nicole I. Stacy. 2018. Epizoic and Apochlorotic Tursiocola species (Bacillariophyta) from the Skin of Florida Manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris). Protist 169(4): 539-568. DOI: 10.1016/j.protis.2018.04.002

Matt P. Ashworth, C.S. Lobban, A. Witkowski, E.C. Theriot, M.J. Sabir, M.N. Baeshen, N.H. Hajrah, N.A. Baeshen, J.S.M. Sabir and R.K. Jansen. 2017. Molecular and morphological investigations of the stauros-bearing, raphid pennate diatoms (Bacillariophyceae): Craspedostauros E.J. Cox and Staurotropis T.B.B. Paddock and their relationship to the rest of the Mastogloiales. Protist 168 (1): 48-70.

Matt P. Ashworth and J. Jeffrey Morris.2016. Axenic Microalgal Cultures Overlook the Complexity of the Phycosphere Marketplace. Perspectives in Phycology 3(2): 107-111. DOI: 10.1127/pip/2016/0051

Matt P. Ashworth, Teofil Nakov & Edward C. Theriot. 2013. Revisiting Ross and Sims (1971): Towards a molecular phylogeny of the Biddulphiaceae and Eupodiscaceae (Bacillariophyceae). Journal of Phycology (49): 1207-1222.

Lobban C.S., Schefter M., Jordan R.W., Arai Y., Sasaki A., Theriot E.C., Ashworth M., Ruck E.C. & Pennesi C. 2012. Coral-reef diatoms (Bacillariophyta) from Guam: new records and preliminary checklist, with emphasis on epiphytic species from farmer-fish territories. Micronesica 43: 237–479.

Matt P. Ashworth, Elizabeth C. Ruck, Christopher S. Lobban, Dwight K. Romanovicz and Edward C. Theriot. 2012. A revision of the genus Cyclophora and description of Astrosyne gen. nov. (Bacillariophyta), two genera with the pyrenoids contained within pseudosepta. Phycologia 51: 683-699.