Coccomyxa greatwallensis sp. nov. (Trebouxiophyceae, Chlorophyta), a lichen epiphytic alga from Fildes Peninsula, Antarctica

A novel freshwater strain of Coccomyxa elongata (MZ–Ch64) was isolated from the Zaporizhia region, Ukraine. The identification was based on the phylogenetic analysis of SSU rDNA gene and ITS1–5.8S rDNA–ITS2 region and predicted secondary structure of the ITS2. Phylogenetic analysis placed this strain in the Coccomyxa group, within the class Trebouxiophyceae. The novel strain MZ–Ch64 formed a strongly supported lineage closest with C. elongata. The MZ–Ch64 strain differed from the morphological description of the species by the size of vegetative cells and absence of small mucilaginous caps at one end of the cell. A number of experiments with different concentrations of phosphate and nitrate were conducted to evaluate changes in the resulting fatty acid profiles and biomass productivity. The fatty acid profile and total fatty acids varied significantly under different nutrient deficiencies. The dominant fatty acid during cultivation on standard BBM medium, as well as in phosphorus‐depleted conditions, was oleic acid (to 48.0%–54.6% of total fatty acids). Absence of nitrogen alone, and absence of both nitrogen and phosphorus, led to an increase of palmitic acid (to 24.7%–25.6%), cis‐7‐hexadecenoic acid (to 14.8%) and α‐linolenic acid (to 9.1%–10.1%) in comparison with the control sample. The greatest variation was found for oleic acid (31.9%–54.6%). Thus, this strain can be considered as a potential producer of oleic acid or cis‐7‐hexadecenoic and α‐linolenic acids for biotechnological applications.

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“…Also, we added recently described species C. greatwallensis (Cao et al. ) and C. antarctica (Cao et al. ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fatty Acid Content and Profile of the Novel Strain of Coccomyxa elongata (Trebouxiophyceae, Chlorophyta) Cultivated at Reduced Nitrogen and Phosphorus Concentrations

Maltsev

Maltseva

et al. 2019

Journal of Phycology

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“…C. viridis has been reported before from lichens with various non- Coccomyxa photobionts in several isolated reports. Species from the C. viridis clade have been independently cultured from several lichen symbioses [13,14,16]. In addition, several amplicon metabarcoding studies of lichen algae reported small numbers of reads assigned to C. viridis [20,21,29].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Coming from diverse groups and present in miniscule amounts, these 'additional' green algae have recently been termed the phycobiome [12] They are mostly detected in two ways. First, by culturing them from a lichen thallus (e.g., [13][14][15][16]). Sometimes this happens by accident, when researchers attempt to culture lichen photobionts [17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Second, during metabarcoding surveys, in which, when reported, non-photobiont algae represent a small fraction of produced data (e.g., [18][19][20][21]). These algae are sometimes assumed to grow epiphytically on lichens (e.g., [13,14]), which is supported by studies comparing algal sequences from washed and unwashed lichen thalli [18,22]. However, much remains unknown about the non-photobiont lichen-associated algae, and the hypothesis that they partake in lichen symbioses cannot be ruled out.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Genomic analysis ofCoccomyxa viridis, a common low-abundance alga associated with lichen symbioses

Tagirdzhanova,

Scharnagl,

Yan

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Lichen symbiosis is centered around a relationship between a fungus and a photosynthetic microbe, usually a green alga. In addition to their main photosynthetic partner (the photobiont), lichen symbioses can contain additional algae present in low abundance. The biology of these algae and the way they interact with the rest of lichen symbionts remains largely unknown. Here we present the first genome sequence of a non-photobiont lichen-associated alga.Coccomyxa viridiswas unexpectedly found in 12% of publicly available lichen metagenomes. With few exceptions, members of theCoccomyxa viridisclade occur in lichens as non-photobionts, potentially growing in thalli endophytically. The 45.7 Mbp genome ofC. viridiswas assembled into 18 near chromosome-level contigs, making it one of the most contiguous genomic assemblies for any lichen-associated algae. Comparing theC. viridisgenome to its close relatives revealed the presence of traits associated with the lichen lifestyle. The genome ofC. viridisprovides a new resource for exploring the evolution of the lichen symbiosis, and how symbiotic lifestyles shaped evolution in green algae.

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“…Second, during metabarcoding surveys, in which, when reported, non-photobiont algae represent a small fraction of produced data (e.g., 18 – 21 ). These algae are sometimes assumed to grow epiphytically on lichens (e.g., 13 , 14 ), which is supported by studies comparing algal sequences from washed and unwashed lichen thalli 18 , 22 . However, much remains unknown about the non-photobiont lichen-associated algae, and the hypothesis that they partake in lichen symbioses cannot be ruled out.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Genomic analysis of Coccomyxa viridis, a common low-abundance alga associated with lichen symbioses

Tagirdzhanova,

Scharnagl,

Yan

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

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Lichen symbiosis is centered around a relationship between a fungus and a photosynthetic microbe, usually a green alga. In addition to their main photosynthetic partner (the photobiont), lichen symbioses can contain additional algae present in low abundance. The biology of these algae and the way they interact with the rest of lichen symbionts remains largely unknown. Here we present the first genome sequence of a non-photobiont lichen-associated alga. Coccomyxa viridis was unexpectedly found in 12% of publicly available lichen metagenomes. With few exceptions, members of the Coccomyxa viridis clade occur in lichens as non-photobionts, potentially growing in thalli endophytically. The 45.7 Mbp genome of C. viridis was assembled into 18 near chromosome-level contigs, making it one of the most contiguous genomic assemblies for any lichen-associated algae. Comparing the C. viridis genome to its close relatives revealed the presence of traits associated with the lichen lifestyle. The genome of C. viridis provides a new resource for exploring the evolution of the lichen symbiosis, and how symbiotic lifestyles shaped evolution in green algae.

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Coccomyxa greatwallensis sp. nov. (Trebouxiophyceae, Chlorophyta), a lichen epiphytic alga from Fildes Peninsula, Antarctica

Cited by 9 publications

References 25 publications

Fatty Acid Content and Profile of the Novel Strain of Coccomyxa elongata (Trebouxiophyceae, Chlorophyta) Cultivated at Reduced Nitrogen and Phosphorus Concentrations

Fatty Acid Content and Profile of the Novel Strain of Coccomyxa elongata (Trebouxiophyceae, Chlorophyta) Cultivated at Reduced Nitrogen and Phosphorus Concentrations

Genomic analysis ofCoccomyxa viridis, a common low-abundance alga associated with lichen symbioses

Genomic analysis of Coccomyxa viridis, a common low-abundance alga associated with lichen symbioses

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