Cyanobacteria are a well-known source of bioproducts which renders culturable strains a valuable resource for biotechnology purposes. We describe here the establishment of a cyanobacterial culture collection (CC) and present the first version of the strain catalog and its online database (http://lege.ciimar.up.pt/). The LEGE CC holds 386 strains, mainly collected in coastal (48%), estuarine (11%), and fresh (34%) water bodies, for the most part from Portugal (84%). By following the most recent taxonomic classification, LEGE CC strains were classified into at least 46 genera from six orders (41% belong to the Synechococcales), several of them are unique among the phylogenetic diversity of the cyanobacteria. For all strains, primary data were obtained and secondary data were surveyed and reviewed, which can be reached through the strain sheets either in the catalog or in the online database. An overview on the notable biodiversity of LEGE CC strains is showcased, including a searchable phylogenetic tree and images for all strains. With this work, 80% of the LEGE CC strains have now their 16S rRNA gene sequences deposited in GenBank. Also, based in primary data, it is demonstrated that several LEGE CC strains are a promising source of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). Through a review of previously published data, it is exposed that LEGE CC strains have the potential or actual capacity to produce a variety of biotechnologically interesting compounds, including common cyanotoxins or unprecedented bioactive molecules. Phylogenetic diversity of LEGE CC strains does not entirely reflect chemodiversity. Further bioprospecting should, therefore, account for strain specificity of the valuable cyanobacterial holdings of LEGE CC.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s10811-017-1369-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

A simple ionic-liquid based extraction method enables recovering of a cutin biopolymer carrying distinct types of modifications (e.g. preservation of esters or cuticular polysaccharides). Authors' contributions: CSP supervised the project and the interpretation of data and prepared the final version of the manuscript. All authors have made substantial contributions to the acquisition, analysis and interpretation of data and contributed to the drafting of the manuscript: JP and CR (plant material preparation), CJSM, AB and RE (ionic liquid synthesis, cutin extraction and cryogenic milling), AB, VGC (NMR data analysis); JP, AP, JP and LH (GC-MS analyses); OOM and AB (WAXS analyses), AB and CJSM (DSC analyses); CJSM and AB (preparation of the initial draft of the manuscript). All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

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The morphology, 16S rRNA gene phylogeny and 16S–23S rRNA gene ITS secondary structures of three strains of marine Cyanobacteria, isolated from inter- and subtidal environments from north Portugal were studied, resulting in the description of Zarconia navalis gen. nov., sp. nov. (Oscillatoriales incertae sedis), Romeriopsis navalis gen. nov., sp. nov. (Leptolyngbyaceae) and Romeriopsis marina sp. nov., named under the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants. No diacritical morphological characters were found for the new genera and species. The 16S rRNA gene maximum-likelihood and Bayesian phylogenies supported that the genus Zarconia is a member of the Oscillatoriales, morphologically similar to the genera Microcoleus and Phormidium, but distant from them. The genus Romeriopsis is positioned within the Leptolyngbyaceae (Synechococcales) and is closely related to Alkalinema . The secondary structures of the D1-D1′, Box B, V2 and V3 helices corroborate the phylogenetic results. Furthermore, our study supports previous observations of polyphyletic Oscillatoriales families and reinforces the need for their taxonomic revision.