<p><strong>Morphology and molecular description of <em>Wilmottia koreana</em> <em>sp. nov.</em> (Oscillatoriales, Cyanobacteria) isolated from the Republic of Korea</strong></p>

Abstract

Two types of Wilmottia (Cyanobacteria) were collected from the tree-bark of a tree on Mt. Gwanggyo in Suwon City, Gyeonggi-do and a rock wall of Haje Port, Geum River in Jeollabuk-do, Republic of Korea. Morphological observations using light microscopy (LM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed that one species was Wilmottia murrayi (Coleofasciculaceae, Oscillatoriales) and the other had similar morphology to W. murrayi, with considerable genetic variations, and thus, it was described as a new species named Wilmottia koreana. Phylogenetic analyses of the 16S rRNA revealed that the family Coleofasciculaceae was clearly separated into taxonomic groups of each genus, and in them, Wilmottia forms a monophyletic lineage. W. koreana diverged the earliest, forming a unique clade separate from the others. Statistical analyses showed that the inter-species genetic distances of Wilmottia were significantly different from the intra-species distances (t-test, P &lt; 0.001). Additionally, the secondary structures of D1–D1’, Box-B, and the V3 helices were different among the Wilmottia species. These results demonstrated that the proposed new Wilmottia species was unique in molecular traits. Therefore, we propose this to be a new species belonging to the genus Wilmottia with the name Wilmottia koreana sp. nov.

First record of the cyanobacterial genus <italic>Wilmottia</italic> (Coleofasciculaceae, Oscillatoriales) from the South Orkney Islands (Antarctica)

“…Differences were evident in morphological characteristics between the two strains grown under the same culture conditions and also with previous descriptions of the species (Table 1). Apical cell shape, trichome pigmentation and sheath development were consistent among (Komárek and Anagnostidis 2005, Strunecký et al 2011, Machado-de-Lima et al 2017, Lee et al 2020…”

Edaphophycus epilithus gen. et sp. nov. (Oscillatoriales, cyanobacteria) with a description of the morphology and molecular phylogeny

“…The type genus Coleofasciculus of family Coleofasciculaceae has been reported to have radial or fasciculated thylakoid arrangements within the cell, and genus Roseofilum Casamatta et al (2012: 494) has the same thylakoid arrangement as other genera belonging to the same family (Siegesmund et al 2008;Casamatta et al 2012;Kom arek et al 2014;Mareš et al 2019). However, genera Anagnostidinema, Geitlerinema (Anagnostidis & Kom arek) Anagnostidis (1989: 35), Kastovskya, and Wilmottia belonging to family Coleofasciculaceae exhibited parietal thylakoid arrangements, like genus Edaphophycus in this study (Strunecký et al 2011;Strunecký et al 2017;Mareš et al 2019;Lee et al 2020;Radzi et al 2021). In addition, genera Gracilinea Machado- de-Lima & Branco (2020: 266), Konicacronema Machado-de-Lima & Branco (2020: 269), Marmoreocelis Machado-de-Lima Branco (2020: 266), Olisthonema Panou and Gkelis (2021: 11), Pycnacronema M. D. Martins & L. H. Z. Branco (Martins et al 2019: 152), and Ramsaria F. Heidari & T. Hauer (Heidari et al 2018: 146), which were recently added as new genera to the family Coleofasciculaceae, were reported without a description of the thylakoid arrangements (Heidari et al 2018;Martins et al 2019;Machado-de-Lima & Branco 2020;Panou & Gkelis 2021).…”

“…Likewise, it forms round or fasciculate trichomes in the mucilage, representing an ecological characteristic of typical subaerial cyanobacteria. The taxonomic research about novel cyanobacteria species has rapidly grown since the introduction of molecular methods (Kom arek et al 2014;Martins et al 2019;Machado-de-Lima & Branco 2020;Lee et al 2020;Lee et al 2021). The families of order Oscillatoriales are well known to be polyphyletic; therefore, classification of genera to families requires caution in this order (Martins et al 2019).…”

“…Nuclear rRNA sequences were amplified by the long PCR technique with a bacterial universal primer (27F, 5 0 -AGAGTTTGATCCTGGCTCAG-3 0 ) and a previously designed 23S reverse primer (CY-23R600, 5 0 -CGGCTCATTCTTCAAC AGGCAC-3 0 ) (Lee et al 2020). PCR was carried out in 20-μL reaction mixtures containing 12.9 μL of sterile distilled water, 2 μL of 10Â Ex PCR buffer (TaKaRa, Shiga, Japan), 2 μL of a dNTP mix (4 mM each), 1 μL of each primer (500 nM), 0.1 μL Ex Taq polymerase (2.5 U), and 1 μL of template.…”

Stenomitos terricola sp. nov. (Leptolyngbyaceae, Cyanobacteria) from the moist soil of Mt. Gwanggyo, Republic of Korea

“…The reaction consisted of an initial denaturation at 94°C for 5 min, followed by 35 cycles of denaturation at 94°C for 20 s, annealing at 55°C for 30 s, and extension at 72°C for 90 s, and a final extension step at 72°C for 10 min (Lee et al . 2020). Resulting PCR products were subjected to electrophoresis in a 1.0% agarose gel and visualized under ultraviolet light on a transilluminator.…”