Chloroparva pannonica gen. et sp. nov. (Trebouxiophyceae, Chlorophyta) – a new picoplanktonic green alga from a turbid, shallow soda pan

Abstract

We describe Chloroparva pannonica Somogyi, Felfö ldi & Vö rö s gen. et sp. nov., a new trebouxiophycean picoplanktonic alga isolated from a turbid, shallow soda pan in Hungary. The cells are spherical to oval, less than 2 mm in diameter, with simple ultrastructure typical to small green algae. Cells divide by autosporulation, forming two daughter cells per autosporangium. Cell wall structure consists of an outer trilaminar layer, an inner microfibrillar layer and an electrontransparent layer covering the plasma membrane. The trilaminar layer of the mother cell wall often persists around the autospores. Typical chlorophyte pigments have been found, including chlorophyll a and b and lutein as the dominant carotenoid. The main fatty acid was oleic acid. The phylogenetic position of the new chlorophyte confirms the proposal of a new genus within the Trebouxiophyceae. Based on its 18S rRNA gene sequence, this isolate is distantly related to Nannochloris eucaryotum UTEX 2502, Chlorella minutissima C-1.1.9 and C. minutissima SAG 1.80 (# 97.6% 18S rRNA gene pairwise similarities).

Unique picoeukaryotic algal community under multiple environmental stress conditions in a shallow, alkaline pan

“…The third group of Zab-szék clones, was affiliated with the recently described Chloroparva and the revised Pseudochloris genera (Somogyi et al 2011(Somogyi et al , 2013 with relatively low pairwise similarity values, 97.3-97.9%, and therefore represented additional potential new species or genera. Type strain of Chloroparva pannonica was isolated from a soda pan in the same region close to Zab-szék (Somogyi et al 2011), an additional isolate from this genus was retrieved from Zab-szék itself (ACT 0602) and Pseudochloris isolates also originated from saline (marine) habitats (Henley et al 2004;Somogyi et al 2013). …”

“…were accepted as genus level divergence among isolates in taxonomic revisions or recent species descriptions (Henley et al 2004, Krienitz et al 2004, Somogyi et al 2011.…”

One step closer to eliminating the nomenclatural problems of minute coccoid green algae: Pseudochloris wilhelmii, gen. et sp. nov. (Trebouxiophyceae, Chlorophyta)

“…Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis of 'N. eucaryotum' SAG 55.87 was performed according to Somogyi et al (2011). The samples were fixed in 2.5% glutaraldehyde for 3 h at room temperature.…”

“…13; Somogyi et al, 2011), is characterized by spherical to ovoid cells of 1.4 × 1.7 µm, a simple cell organization, typical chlorophyte pigment composition (chlorophylls a and b and lutein as the main carotenoid), and a trilaminate cell wall with an inner microfibrillar and an innermost electron-transparent layer (Somogyi et al, 2011). In comparison, SAG 55.87 has larger cells, but a similar internal cell organization and pigment composition.…”

“…These strains have nearly identical 18S rRNA gene sequences but are distantly related to the 'true' Chlorella or Nannochloris species (Huss et al, 1999;Krienitz et al, 1999;Henley et al, 2004). The closest known relative of this group was recently described as Chloroparva pannonica (Somogyi et al, 2011). Kalina & Puncochárová (1987) were the first to suggest that 'Chlorella minutissima' C 1.1.9 is distinct from the nominal C. minutissima isolate (Lefevre ALCP no.…”