Microalgae Morphology

For morphology analysis, microalgae samples were diluted in TAP media to a final density of 1×10⁶ microalgae/mL, then 10 µL were loaded onto a glass slide and taken to the light microscope. Morphology was evaluated by optical microscopy (Dmi1 microscope, Leica), with 10x/0.4 and 40x/0.65 objectives and imaged with a standard MS60 digital camera (Mshot). Cell area quantification was done on 40x images with ImageJ, where a background threshold was applied and the total area of each separate microalgae was calculated, in accordance with described ImageJ methodologies. Measurements were repeated for each individual microalga in the image. Data from multiple images was averaged and plotted.