New Species of Chloroidium (Trebouxiophyceae, Chlorophyta) from East Asia

Abstract

Chlorella-like green algae that reproduce only asexually by immotile autospores or motile zoospores are the most typical inhabitants of non-aquatic environments. They have a simple morphology that hampers their differentiation, but algae of such habit represent a diverse array of lineages, which are mostly in the classes Chlorophyceae and Trebouxiophyceae. One of these lineages is the order Watanabeales (Watanabea clade; Trebouxiophyceae), which comprises 10 genera that share a distinct mode of reproduction through unequally sized autospores. Most of these genera account for a few species that are rarely recorded in nature. In contrast, the genus Chloroidium is one of the most species-rich and widely distributed members of the order. Three strains of coccoid green alga were isolated during a study of soil algae in the temperate monsoon climate zone of Asia. These strains are described here as a new species, Chloroidium orientalis. SSU and ITS rDNA sequence data, morphological characteristics, and life cycle features differentiate these strains from known members of the genus.

A critical review of soil algae as a crucial soil biological component of high ecological and economic significance

“…Light microscope identifiable morphological characters (Glaser et al., 2017; Maltseva & Maltsev, 2021) have generally been used to identify soil algae (Arguelles & Monsalud, 2017). As in the case of aquatic algae, the most common morphological characteristics observed for identification of soil algae have been the dimensions of cells or trichomes, the presence or absence of heterocysts, the mucilage sheath, the branching pattern for cyanobacteria and chloroplast features, the presence or absence of pyrenoids (Arguelles & Monsalud, 2017; Deepthi & Ray, 2020; Škaloud et al., 2016), and life‐cycle patterns (Gontcharov et al., 2021, 2022) for the Chlorophyta and other groups. Additionally, metabolites of soil algae have also been used as characteristic features in terrestrial microalgal taxonomy (Hotter et al., 2018).…”

“…Additional studies by Gontcharov et al. (2021) explored the taxonomy of the three algal isolates of the Primorsky territory of Russia and the Jilin Province of China following phenotypic and molecular methods, and through phylogenetical analysis, they confirmed them to be a new species, Chloroidium orientalis . Kezlya et al.…”

“…Temraleeva et al (2018) reported a new genus and species, Spongiosarcinopsis terrestris, from the gray forest soils of Russia. Additional studies by Gontcharov et al (2021) explored the taxonomy of the three algal isolates of the Primorsky territory of Russia and the Jilin Province of China following phenotypic and molecular methods, and through phylogenetical analysis, they confirmed them to be a new species, Chloroidium orientalis. Kezlya et al (2022) reported the phylogeny and fatty acid profile of a new species of a diatom, Pinnularia sp., from the forest soils of Vietnam.…”

Study of Biodiversity of Algae and Cyanobacteria of Mutnovsky and Gorely Volcanoes Soils (Kamchatka Peninsula) Using a Polyphasic Approach

“…Total genomic DNA was extracted as described previously [57]. For the Chlorophyta members, SSU rDNA and the ITS region of rDNA were amplified using primer combinations and temperature profiles, following Nemcová et al [58] and Gontcharov et al [59]. The amplification and sequencing of the ITS region of members of Eustigmatophycea were conducted as described previously [60], with modifications.…”

Study on Syntaxonomic Diversity of Algal Cenoses in Soils of the Russian Far East, Using an Integrative Taxonomic Approach

“…Moreover, these data, based on outdated methods and paradigms, do not reflect current levels of phycology development and require reevaluation from the standpoint of modern methods and approaches. The application of an integrative approach for the exploration of cyanobacteria and algae diversity in soils of this region has resulted in a description of new taxa and new distribution records [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ]. Therefore, it could be expected that the use of this approach for studying the diversity of communities of cyanobacteria and algae may lead to the description of new syntaxa.…”