Cold Storage of Six Marine Benthic Diatoms Native to the Mexico Pacific Coast

Cultures of six benthic diatoms were maintained in the dark to measure their viability and biochemical composition after 8 wk of storage at low temperature (4 C) in darkness by refrigeration. Cell density, growth rate, and viability for each benthic diatom changed significantly after storage. Significant differences were observed with regard to cell size (length and width) of Nitzschia laevis, Navicula sp., and Amphora tenerrima as a result of storage. In general, the proximal composition of the benthic diatom cultures changed after week 1 of storage and decreased after week 4 of storage for all the diatoms. These results demonstrate that under 1–4 wk of storage these diatoms maintain their viability and had changes in their proximal composition in species‐specific responses. Storage of preserved live microalgae cells is an alternative technique that can be used to reduce the need for continuous maintenance of live cultures and can provide live feed stock for aquaculture applications.