Fottea 2023, 23(1):110-121 | DOI: 10.5507/fot.2022.016

Unsuspected findings about phylogeny and ultrastructure of the enigmatic cyanobacterium Microcrocis geminata resulted in its epitypification and novel placement in Geminocystaceae

Jan Pokorný1, Lenka Štenclová1, 2, Jan Kaštovský1, *
1 Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 1760, CZ-37005, České Budějovice, Czech Republic; *Corresponding author email: hanys@prf.jcu.cz
2 Institute of Hydrobiology, Biology Centre of Czech Academy of Sciences, Na Sádkách 702/7, CZ-37005, České Budějovice, Czech Republic

The genus Microcrocis belongs to long ago established cyanobacterial taxa for which relevant data required for a modern taxonomic analysis remained unknown for a long time. In present study we proposed an epitype originating from a large natural population of the type species M. geminata. Through isolating clean individual colonies from the environmental sample, sufficient material for a single colony PCR and amplification of genomic DNA by MDA method was obtained. Molecular analyses of the 16S rRNA gene determined the unsuspected position of the cyanobacterium within the family Geminocystaceae, forming a distinct branch with two Merismopedia sequences. 16S rRNA and ITS analysis clearly separated the two taxa on generic level. The phylogenetic classification is conspicuously consistent with the ultrastructure of parallel thylakoids unique for some members of the family Geminocystaceae. Distinctive morphology of the genus including typical longitudinal division is discussed.

Keywords: blue-green algae, Geminocystaceae, Merismopediaceae, phylogeny, taxonomy, thylakoids

Received: May 24, 2022; Revised: October 5, 2022; Accepted: October 19, 2022; Prepublished online: February 8, 2023; Published: April 1, 2023Show citation

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Pokorný, J., Štenclová, L., & Kaštovský, J. (2023). Unsuspected findings about phylogeny and ultrastructure of the enigmatic cyanobacterium Microcrocis geminata resulted in its epitypification and novel placement in Geminocystaceae. Fottea, 23(1), 110-121. doi: 10.5507/fot.2022.016
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