Molecular characterization of eukaryotic algal communities in the tropical phyllosphere based on real-time sequencing of the 18S rDNA gene

Abstract

BackgroudFoliicolous algae are a common occurrence in tropical forests. They are referable to a few simple morphotypes (unicellular, sarcinoid-like or filamentous), which makes their morphology of limited usefulness for taxonomic studies and species diversity assessments. The relationship between algal community and their host phyllosphere was not clear. In order to obtain a more accurate assessment, we used single molecule real-time sequencing of the 18S rDNA gene to characterize the eukaryotic algal community in an area of South-western China.ResultWe annotated 2922 OTUs belonging to five classes, Ulvophyceae, Trebouxiophyceae, Chlorophyceae, Dinophyceae and Eustigmatophyceae. Novel clades formed by large numbers sequences of green algae were detected in the order Trentepohliales (Ulvophyceae) and the Watanabea clade (Trebouxiophyceae), suggesting that these foliicolous communities may be substantially more diverse than so far appreciated and require further research. Species in Trentepohliales, Watanabea clade and Apatococcus clade were detected as the core members in the phyllosphere community studied. Communities from different host trees and sampling sites were not significantly different in terms of OTUs composition. However, the communities of Musa and Ravenala differed from other host plants significantly at the genus level, since they were dominated by Trebouxiophycean epiphytes.ConclusionThe cryptic diversity of eukaryotic algae especially Chlorophytes in tropical phyllosphere is very high. The community structure at species-level has no significant relationship either with host phyllosphere or locations. The core algal community in tropical phyllopshere is consisted of members from Trentepohliales, Watanabea clade and Apatococcus clade. Our study provided a large amount of novel 18S rDNA sequences that will be useful to unravel the cryptic diversity of phyllosphere eukaryotic algae and for comparisons with similar future studies on this type of communities.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12870-018-1588-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Four New Members of Foliicolous Green Algae Within the Watanabea Clade (Trebouxiophyceae, Chlorophyta) from China

“…This indication was also confirmed in our previous study (Zhu et al. ) about eukaryotic algal communities in the tropical phyllosphere. Therefore, we conducted this study to further survey algae living on plant leaves in the tropics.…”

“…Our previous study on foliicolous communities (Zhu et al. ) indicated that many novel species of green algae were detected in the Watanabea clade and suggested that these foliicolous communities may be substantially more diverse than appreciated and they require further research. Moreover, a pilot study on many other spherical or ellipsoidal pure cultured strains obtained from foliicolous communities showed they were also within the Watanabea clade but were not same as the known members.…”

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

“…According to the modern concept of taxonomy of the Chlorophyta, Coccomyxa belongs to the CBCE clade within trebouxiophycean algae (Zhu et al. ). Previously, Coccomyxa belonged to the Elliptochloris clade (Pröschold et al.…”

“…The genus Coccomyxa belongs to the green algal class Trebouxiophyceaesister to the Chlorophyceae and Ulvophyceae. According to the modern concept of taxonomy of the Chlorophyta, Coccomyxa belongs to the CBCE clade within trebouxiophycean algae (Zhu et al 2018). Previously, Coccomyxa belonged to the Elliptochloris clade (Pr€ oschold et al 2011) and Botryococcus clade (Neustupa 2015).…”

Review on the biotechnological and nanotechnological potential of the streptophyte genusKlebsormidiumwith pilot data on its phycoprospecting and polyphasic identification in Bulgaria

“…Amongst this group is the green non-branched filamentous genus Klebsormidium, which grows in different types of habitats with preference to the aeroterrestrial mode of life [10][11][12][13][14]. The genus is described as cosmopolitan, yet it is mainly distributed in temperate regions with less records from the tropics [10,11,[15][16][17][18], and a decrease in species richness towards the poles [19]. Klebsormidium has attracted the attention of scientists mainly due to its complicated taxonomy (e.g.…”