PHYLOGENETIC RELATIONSHIP OF COLEOCHAETE AND CHAETO-SPHAERIDIUM (COLEOCHAETALES) BASED ON THE CHLOROPLAST GENES RBCL AND ATPB

The freshwater green alga Coleochaete Breb. (Coleochaetaceae; Coleochaetales) is a key streptophyte genus and is important to the understanding of the evolutionary origin of embryophytes (land plants). To date only a few species have been available from public culture collections. To facilitate research on this genus we have isolated 17 previously uncultured species of Coloechaete from material collected in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic. Sequences for the genes rbcL and atp B were determined for these new isolates of Coleochaete (and for existing cultures) and combined with sequences from representative other streptophytes. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that Coleochaete , along with Chaetosphaeridium and Chara , are closely related to embryophytes and constitute a 'higher streptophyte' clade. At least four well-supported lineages exist within Coleochaete. Characteristic growth forms have been identified for these four lineages, with important characters including aspects of thallus establishment, thallus habit, zygote development and hair sheath position. These data provide an improved understanding of species diversity and character evolution in the genus Coleochaete , and facilitate examination of hypotheses concerning character evolution in the streptophytes.