Culture Collection

The Chlamydomonas Center culture collection supplies Chlamydomonas strains, kits for teaching and science projects, and molecular resources. The collection is supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation, and by fees paid by users of our cultures.

Core Collection

The most frequently requested strains.

We are frequently asked what strain was used for genomic sequencing. This was CC-503 cw92 mt+, a cell-wall deficient strain, and was used in order to get high-quality DNA. Most of the EST libraries sequenced at Stanford were prepared in the wild-type strain CC-1690 21 gr mt+. Both CC-503 and CC-1690 derive from the same original field isolate, made in Massachusetts in 1945, but they have been separate since at least the mid-1950s. S1 D2, a strain used for some ESTs and comparative sequencing, is a field isolate from Minnesota, dating from the 1980s.

Special Sets

These are sets of strains with various phenotypes, including acetate requiring, non-motile, herbicide resistant, fluoroacetate resistant, temperature-sensitive, and other phenotypes. Many of them are poorly characterized and deserve more attention.

Archival Strains

Mostly historical strains that document publications, or that have been replaced with more recent isolates.

Project Kits

strains and materials for high school science projects and laboratory exercises at the high school or college level

Libraries

BAC and cDNA libraries created for the Chlamydomonas Genome Project

Plasmids

Individual cDNA and genomic clones. Currently the collection is heavy on chloroplast genes, less complete for nuclear. We welcome contributions of additional plasmids, especially of useful constructs for transformation and gene expression.

Search this site

Note: this search actually searches the whole chlamy.org site. Strain entries will be obvious in the links retrieved, however.

Placing Orders

To order strains, please write to chlamy@duke.edu, or use the on-line order form.

The order form opens in a new window, to facilitate copy/pasting strain names from the core collection or other lists into the form.

IMPORTANT MESSAGE!  If you use the on-line form to place an order, you should receive an acknowledgement by e-mail within 24 hours. If you don't, please contact us by e-mail chlamy@duke.edu. We have had repeated problems with changes being made in the web server at the departmental level that affect the function of this form. Unless someone tells us it isn't working correctly, we may not be aware of the problem.

We ask that users of our cultures help with an annual "subscription" payment to the Chlamydomonas Center.

Rates: Our charges are as follows:

A Single order of no more than 10 cultures:   $100


Please add $10 per strain for additional cultures ordered at the same time.

Introductory special wild type strains of both mating types, or any single strain or plasmid   $50


Yearly prepaid subscription:            $250
up to 5 separate orders comprising up to 50 cultures total.

Premium support level:                 $500
up to 15 orders comprising up to 150 cultures

Kits for teaching and science fair projects are priced separately.

All prices include shipping. Payment can be made by check, MasterCard or Visa. If you need to go through an institutional purchase order, please contact us first by e-mail.