Appraisal of the Genus Pleurastrum (Chlorophyta) Based on Molecular and Climate Data

Two green microalgal strains, CCCryo 469-16 and CCCryo 470-16, were isolated from samples of Antarctic microflora. Their morphology and 18S rRNA sequences indicated a phylogenetic relationship with strains of the genera Chlorococcum Meneghini, Macrochloris Korshikov, and Pleurastrum Chodat. The last...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inDiversity (Basel) Vol. 15; no. 5; p. 650
Main Authors Sciuto, Katia, Wolf, Marion A., Mistri, Michele, Moro, Isabella
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 10.05.2023
Subjects
18S rRNA
Algae
Aquatic microorganisms
Biodiversity
Carotenoids
Chlorococcum
climate zones
Climatic data
Cold
Culture collections
Electron microscopes
Ethanol
ITS2 secondary structure
Macrochloris rubrioleum
Microalgae
Microflora
Morphology
Phylogeny
Pleurastrum
rRNA 18S
Taxonomic revision
Taxonomy
Antarctica
United Kingdom > UK
United States > US
Germany
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Two green microalgal strains, CCCryo 469-16 and CCCryo 470-16, were isolated from samples of Antarctic microflora. Their morphology and 18S rRNA sequences indicated a phylogenetic relationship with strains of the genera Chlorococcum Meneghini, Macrochloris Korshikov, and Pleurastrum Chodat. The last genus is considered particularly problematic as it underwent several revisions. Moreover, its type strain, P. insigne SAG 30.93, was recently demonstrated to coincide genetically with the authentic strain of Chlorococcum oleofaciens from an 18S rRNA phylogeny. This deprived the genus Pleurastrum of an important type reference. Thus, the molecular markers rbcL, tufA, and ITS were employed to identify the Antarctic isolates more precisely. Several other microalgae related to our isolates were obtained from international culture collections for comparison. The obtained results allowed the re-establishment of strain P. insigne SAG 30.93 as the reference strain and the definition of the molecular borders of both genera Pleurastrum and Chlorococcum. Based on our findings, several Chlorococcum species are now re-attributed to Pleurastrum, as well as Macrochloris rubrioleum, here re-named Pleurastrum rubrioleum comb. nov., to which the Antarctic isolates also belong. Finally, a relationship between Pleurastrum lineages and climate zones was established.
ISSN:1424-2818
1424-2818
DOI:10.3390/d15050650