Morphology and phylogenetic position of Spongiochrysis hawaiiensis gen. et sp. nov., the first known terrestrial member of the order Cladophorales (Ulvophyceae, Chlorophyta)

Abstract

Morphology and phylogenetic position of Spongiochrysis hawaiiensis gen. et sp. nov., the first known terrestrial member of the order Cladophorales (Ulvophyceae, Chlorophyta) On the basis of its unicellular habit and terrestrial habitat, this species is well differentiated from all other members of the same lineage and can be considered as the first known successful step of a member of the order Cladophorales into terrestrial habitats. The implications of the description of this species with regard to both green algal evolution and conservation of little-known tropical habitats are discussed. The holotype specimen of Spongiochrysis hawaiiensis is GALW015489 and isotype specimens have also been deposited in the BISH and BM herbaria.

Elliptochloris bilobata var. corticola var. nov. (Trebouxiophyceae, Chlorophyta), a novel subaerial coccal green alga

“…We believe that this way of geometric morphometric evaluation of closely similar species could soon become a standard tool of phenotypic analysis of green microalgae with variable cell shapes (Neustupa & Šťastný 2006;Neustupa & Nemjová 2008). High diversity of tropical subaerial green algae was already suggested in previous studies (Neustupa & Šejnohová 2003;Neustupa 2004Neustupa , 2005bRindi et al 2006;). However, given their aero-terrestrial habitats and the subsequent selection for low surface-to-volume ratio, most of these algae have very simple morphology.…”

Phylogeny and Molecular Evolution of the Green Algae

“…The class is best known for its macroscopic marine representatives (the green seaweeds), but several members also occur in freshwater or damp subaerial habitats such as soil, rocks, tree bark and leaves (Chihara et al, 1986;López-Bautista & Chapman, 2003;Rindi et al, 2006;Watanabe & Nakayama, 2007).…”

A novel species in the genusHeveochlorella(Trebouxiophyceae, Chlorophyta) witnesses the evolution from an epiphytic into an endophytic lifestyle in tree-dwelling green algae

“…Some microalgae have established symbiotic associations with other organisms, such as Chlorella with green hydra and Paramecium bursaria (Kovačević et al, 2005(Kovačević et al, , 2007Kodama et al, 2007), in which the algae provide energy and even detoxification to the hosts (Pardy, 1976;Reisser, 1976;Kovačević et al, 2005). Green algae inhabiting trees have been described in increasing numbers in recent years, either in lichen consortia, or free-living on the surface of bamboo or tree trunks (Hanagata et al, 1997;Rindi et al, 2006;Eliáš et al, 2010;Neustupa et al, 2011). Some Chlorella-like algae have even been found to be endophytic in plants, as shown for ginkgo and rubber trees (Trémouillaux-Guiller et al, 2002;Zhang et al, 2008).…”