| Abstract: | When scenedesmus communis Hegew. (UTEX 76) was transferred daily in dilute media and a low cell density was maintained (ca. 1000 cells · mL?1), up to 30% unicells were produced in that population. Unlike previously described uncell-coenobium-unicell transformation with other species, these unicells never produced S. communis coenobia (large coenobium type, LCT) but rather small coenobium type (SCT) resembling S. komarekii Hegew. Growth and morphological development of the paratype strain of S. komarekii (UTEX 1236) was compared with an isolated SCT strain (SCT 76–8). SCT 76–8 never produced LCTs and grew significantly faster than UTEX 1236. Both SCT 76–8 and UTEX 1236 produced uncells at low cell densities. Coenobia formed when cell densities increased over time in batch cultures. SCT 76–8 and UTEX 1236 did not differ morphologically when viewed with the light microscope. Under scanning electron microscopy, an outer opaque layer covered an inner warty layer on unicells. The outer layer was reduced or absent in coenobia from batch cultures in stationary growth. In addition, long spikelets, not present on the walls of unicells, were prominent on coenobial walls. The spikelets of UTEX 1236 appeared smaller and more uniformly distributed than in strain 76–8. In contrast, the surface wall morphology of LCT S. communis was composed of an outer reticulate layer supported by spikelets and appeared as a pentagonal meshwork covering the cell walls. This phenotypic plasticity, as demonstrated by SEM and light microscopy, provides further evidence needed for an understanding of Scenedesmus evolution. |
