Molecular phylogeny of Chlorella-related chlorophytes (Chlorophyta) from Anatolian freshwaters of Turkey

Abstract

IntroductionMany coccoid algae are very difficult to identify because of their extremely small size and simple morphology, and they have been referred to as "little green balls" (Callieri and Stockner, 2002). These little green balls have often been reported as Chlorella Beijerinck or Chlorella vulgaris Beijerinck (Fawley et al., 2004). Since C. vulgaris "Beijerinck strain" (SAG 211-11b) was first described and isolated in axenic culture about 120 years ago, Chlorella strains have been used as model organisms in plant physiology and biochemical research (Burja et al., 2001). Furthermore, mass cultures of Chlorella have been used in agriculture as a single cell protein both for humans and animals, in biotechnology as recovery agents for waste treatment, and in biofuel technology as microbial energy producers (Golueke and Oswald, 1964;Fogg, 1971;Soeder, 1976;Abbott and Cheney, 1982).Among the over 100 traditionally defined Chlorella species, a lack of morphological characters led to the adoption of various approaches, including several combinations of physiological, biochemical, and serological studies, for identifying Chlorella species (John et al., 2003). The morphologically-defined species are considered very artificial and house many cryptic taxa. Using molecular data, Huss et al. (1999) demonstrated that only 5 "true" species could be regarded as part of the genus Chlorella. Materials and methods Chlorella isolationsEnvironmental water samples were taken from the

Molecular identification, biomass, and biochemical composition of the marine chlorophyte Chlorella sp. MF1 isolated from Suez Bay

“…The microscopic observations of this work are in agreement with those recorded for the genus Chlorella Beijerinck [ 4 , 45 ]. The phylogenetic analyses resulted in a topology presenting unrooted tree that illustrates the relatedness of the leaf nodes and reflects the branching order without making assumptions about common ancestry [ 43 ].…”

“…Screening of local microalgae species with high nutritional value and potential for oil production is essential to achieve successful commercial large-scale cultures. The species of the genus Chlorella are considered as cryptic species that are morphologically similar but genetically distinct [ 3 , 4 ]. The lack of obvious morphological taxonomic characteristics in addition to an exclusively asexual reproductive cycle by means of autospores makes it difficult to differentiate between the species of the genus Chlorella Beijerinck depending on the traditional taxonomy [ 5 ].…”

Heveochlorella (Trebouxiophyceae): a little‐known genus of unicellular green algae outside the Trebouxiales emerges unexpectedly as a major clade of lichen photobionts in foliicolous communities

“…, Baytut et al. ) the Watanabea clade primarily encompasses algae of subaerial habitats, with some taxa described from specialized environments of low pH (e.g., Viridiella ; Albertano et al. , Huss et al.…”

Molecular characterization and expression analysis of iron superoxide dismutase gene from Pseudochlorella pringsheimii (Trebouxiophyceae, Chlorophyta)

“…Several attempts have been made to distinguish among these species. Baytut et al (2014) and Hirooka et al (2014) showed that the type strain P. pringsheimii was separated from the closely related C. vulgaris and C. sorokiniana strains depending on the sequences of 18S rDNA and chloroplast 16S rDNA regions. However, other species await phylogenetic separation until new taxonomic markers can distinguish their classification.…”

“…Recently, the classification of the elliptical coccoid and spherical forms was reconsidered due to insufficient morphological differentiation. Physiological, molecular and biochemical investigations were performed to revise the taxonomy of the species belonging to ''Chlorella'' (Darienko et al 2010;Görs et al 2010;Baytut et al 2014;Heeg and Wolf 2015).…”