A new cyanobacterial genus Altericista and three species, A. lacusladogae sp. nov., A. violacea sp. nov., and A. variichlora sp. nov., described using a polyphasic approach

Abstract

Several strains of unicellular cyanobacteria from the culture collection of St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia (CALU), which were preliminary identified as Synechocystis sp., are reclassified in the new genus Altericista. Three new species are proposed, A. lacusladogae, A. violacea, and A. variichlora. The last species produces accessory chlorophylls d and f in cultures illuminated by far‐red light, an attribute rarely observed in cyanobacteria, especially in unicellular strains. This genus is morphologically similar to Synechocysis having coccoid cells that divide in two successive planes at right angles, containing no sheath or capsule, and having the lamellar system represented by peripheral concentric thylakoids. Altericista shows ecological, biochemical, and physiological characters unlike those in Synechocystis and has the distinguishing phenotypic characters as follows: freshwater, non‐halotolerant ecotype; palmitate and α‐linoleate as major fatty acids; and the ability to photoacclimate, including several types of complementary chromatic adaptation. Genetic differences from Synechocystis sp. include 16S rRNA, rpoC1, and rbcL gene sequences, as well as sequence and folding of 16S‐23S ITS.

Structural and Functional Genes, and Highly Repetitive Sequences Commonly Used in the Phylogeny and Species Concept of the Phylum Cyanobacteria

“…2019), Leptothoe D.Konstantinou & S.Gkelis (Konstantinou et al . 2019), Altericista Averina, E.Polyakova, Senetskaya & Pinevich (Averina et al . 2021), Perforafilum Zimba, Shalygin & I.-S. Huang (Zimba et al .…”

Identification of a Far-Red Light-Inducible Promoter that Exhibits Light Intensity Dependency and Reversibility in a Cyanobacterium

“…Many new FaRLiP strains have recently been identified. − Further screening with the system developed here can assist in identifying additional promoters that can function together with the RfpABC control elements in Cf9212. Additional studies are also underway to identify the DNA sequence motifs interacting with RfpB.…”

Microbial Diversity and Community Structure of Wastewater-Driven Microalgal Biofilms

“…Therefore, Klebsormidium, Oedogonium, and Cladophora are filamentous or colony-forming microalgae [57], whereas the others are nonfilament-forming. In addition, prokaryotic cyanobacterial genera were highly abundant in the inocula samples, with filamentous taxa such as Wilmottia and Tychonema found in Inoculum I at 3.4 ± 0.2% and 4.4 ± 0.5%, respectively, whereas the local Inoculum II was dominated by unicellular (non-filamentous) Altericista [58] with 23 ± 1.8% of the total prokaryotic features (Figure 5b).…”