A new aerial alga, Stichococcus ampulliformis sp. nov. (Trebouxiophyceae, Chlorophyta) from Japan |
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| Authors: | Shinji Handa Miho Nakahara Hiromi Tsubota Hironori Deguchi Taketo Nakano |
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| Institution: | Hiroshima Environment and Health Association, 9-1 Hirosekita-machi, Naka-ku, Hiroshima-shi, Hiroshima-ken 730-8631, Japan;Department of Biological Science, Graduate School of Science, Hiroshima University, 1-3-1 Kagami-yama, Higashi-hiroshima-shi, Hiroshima-ken 739-8526, Japan;Hiroshima Institute of Technology, 2-1-1 Miyake, Saeki-ku, Hiroshima-shi, Hiroshima-ken 731-5193, Japan |
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| Abstract: | A new aerial alga, Stichococcus ampulliformis S. Handa sp. nov. (Trebouxiophyceae, Chlorophyta) is described based on a clone isolated from the bark of Cephalotaxus harringtonia (Knight ex Forbes) K. Koch collected from Taishaku‐kyo Gorge, Hiroshima Prefecture, south‐west Japan. This alga was examined by light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy and subjected to molecular phylogenetic analysis. Based on its morphological features and life‐cycle, especially short filament formation, the alga was assigned to the genus Stichococcus Nägeli. However, this alga differs from other described Stichococcus species in that it reproduces by a form of ‘budding’, producing two daughter cells of different sizes. The larger cell, enclosed within the mother cell wall, soon reaches the size of a normal vegetative cell. The smaller cell is extruded and takes longer to reach full vegetative size. A phylogenetic tree constructed using 18S rRNA sequences indicated that, within the Trebouxiophyceae, S. ampulliformis is closely related to S. bacillaris Nägeli and some species of Prasiola Meneghini. |
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| Keywords: | aerial algae molecular phylogeny Stichococcus ampulliformis sp nov Trebouxiophyceae 18S rRNA gene |
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