Sanguina nivaloides and Sanguina aurantia gen. et spp. nov. (Chlorophyta): the taxonomy, phylogeny, biogeography and ecology of two newly recognised algae causing red and orange snow

Abstract

Melting snowfields in polar and alpine regions often exhibit a red and orange colouration caused by microalgae. The diversity of these organisms is still poorly understood. We applied a polyphasic approach using three molecular markers and light and electron microscopy to investigate spherical cysts sampled from alpine mountains in Europe, North America and South America as well as from both polar regions. Molecular analyses revealed the presence of a single independent lineage within the Chlamydomonadales. The genus Sanguina is described, with Sanguina nivaloides as its type. It is distinguishable from other red cysts forming alga by the number of cell wall layers, cell size, cell surface morphology and habitat preference. Sanguina nivaloides is a diverse species containing a total of 18 haplotypes according to nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer 2, with low nucleotide divergence (≤3.5%). Based on molecular data we demonstrate that it has a cosmopolitan distribution with an absence of geographical structuring, indicating an effective dispersal strategy with the cysts being transported all around the globe, including trans-equatorially. Additionally, Sanguina aurantia is described, with small spherical orange cysts often clustered by means of mucilaginous sheaths, and causing orange blooms in snow in subarctic and Arctic regions.

Two New Kremastochrysopsis species, K. austriaca sp. nov. and K. americana sp. nov. (Chrysophyceae)1

“…, Procházková et al. ). While additional studies must be made, it seems probable that K. austriaca is distributed in other areas of the Austrian Alps.…”

Enigmatic Microalgae from Aeroterrestrial and Extreme Habitats in Cosmetics: The Potential of the Untapped Natural Sources

“…and Trentepohlia spp. [53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62]. In contrast, other typical green snow algae of the genus Raphidonema (Trebouxiophyceae, Chlorophyta) are unable to develop such orange-or red-colored cell types [50,53].…”

Variation in Snow Algae Blooms in the Coast Range of British Columbia

“…We immediately fixed microscopy aliquots in 2% gluteraldehyde, which we stored at 4 • C for up to 72 h. We quantified the relative abundance of morphospecies in 122 samples by identifying 100 cells on a haemocytometer under 400x light microscopy. We classified cell morphology based on similarity to published photographs of Sanguina nivaloides (Procházková et al, 2019), Chloromonas cf. nivalis (Procházková et al, 2018b), Chloromonas cf.…”

“…Green algae of class Chlorophyceae are predominant in many snow algae blooms, including the genera Sanguina, Chloromonas, and Chlainomonas. The genus Sanguina was only recently established and contains just two species; however, many sequences from red snow form a yet-unnamed sister clade to Sanguina (Procházková et al, 2019). Sanguina has been found in red and orange snow algae blooms worldwide (Procházková et al, 2019).…”

“…The genus Sanguina was only recently established and contains just two species; however, many sequences from red snow form a yet-unnamed sister clade to Sanguina (Procházková et al, 2019). Sanguina has been found in red and orange snow algae blooms worldwide (Procházková et al, 2019). Many species of snow algae have been assigned to Chloromonas, including at least twelve cultured representatives (Matsuzaki et al, 2019).…”