Hydrurus- related golden algae (Chrysophyceae) cause yellow snow in polar summer snowfields (original) (raw)
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International journal of systematic and evolutionary microbiology, 2018
With the advent of molecular phylogenetic methods, it has become possible to assess the bioversity of snow algae more accurately. In this study, we focused on a morphological, ultrastructural and taxonomic description of a new Chloromonas-like alga isolated from snow in the High Arctic (Svalbard). Light and transmission electron microscopy revealed broad ellipsoidal or ellipsoidal-cylindrical, occasionally spherical cells with a chloroplast without a pyrenoid, an inconspicuous eyespot and a papilla. The size difference and the aforementioned morphological traits clearly distinguished the alga from its closest counterparts within the genus Chloromonas. Moreover, we were able to cultivate the alga at both 5 and 20 °C, revealing the psychrotolerant nature of the strain. Phylogenetic analyses of the plastid rbcL and nuclear 18S rRNA gene showed that the alga is nested within a clade containing a number of psychrotolerant strains within the Chloromonadinia phylogroup (Chlorophyceae). In ...
Antarctic Science, 2013
In Antarctica, mass accumulations of psychrophilic algae cause striking phenomena like green, orange, or red snow. This occurs during summer, when coastal snowfields start to melt, become waterlogged and photoautotrophs can thrive. Chloromonas polyptera (Fritsch) Hoham, Mullet & Roemer is a unicellular species that causes orange snow in the vicinity of penguin rockeries. It has been recognized for many decades because of the distinct habitat and the characteristic morphology of cysts with elongated flanges on the outer cell wall. However, closer investigations concerning the ecology or physiology have been sparse so far. Field material was collected from two sites on the Antarctic Peninsula to find out more about metabolic and cellular strategies. The results were compared with a closely related species from high alpine locations, Chloromonas nivalis (Chodat) Hoham & Mullet. Despite the geographical distance, C. polyptera shares several physiological strategies with the alpine relat...
Frontiers in Plant Science, 2021
Snow algae play crucial roles in cold ecosystems, however, many aspects related to their biology, adaptations and especially their diversity are not well known. To improve the identification of snow algae from colored snow, in the present study we used a polyphasic approach to describe a new Antarctic genus, Chlorominima with the species type Chlorominima collina. This new taxon was isolated of colored snow collected from the Collins Glacier (King George Island) in the Maritime Antarctic region. Microscopy revealed biflagellated ellipsoidal cells with a rounded posterior end, a C-shaped parietal chloroplast without a pyrenoid, eyespot, and discrete papillae. Several of these characteristics are typical of the genus Chloromonas, but the new isolate differs from the described species of this genus by the unusual small size of the cells, the presence of several vacuoles, the position of the nucleus and the shape of the chloroplast. Molecular analyzes confirm that the isolated alga does...
The scaled chrysophyte flora of the Bolshezemelskaya tundra ( Russia )
2007
The flora of scaled chrysophytes is documented from 34 sites situated within the Bolshezemelskaya tundra region of Russia, all of which are situated above the Arctic Circle. The sites included lakes and ponds in the remote Vashutkini and Kharbey lake regions, as well as ones near settlements in and around Vorkuta City. Lakes in the Vashutkini lake region were of special interest because they represent hydrologically isolated relict waterbodies that were not ice covered during the Wisconsin glaciation. We found a rich and diverse flora of scaled chrysophytes, including 75 taxa from the genera Mallomonas (n = 44), Synura (n = 10), Spiniferomonas (n = 9), Paraphysomonas (n = 10) and Chrysosphaerella (n = 2). A total of 31 of the species represent new records for Russia and our findings extend the known distributions of many taxa into the cold northern tundra. We found a small set of species, including Mallomonas pseudocoronata, M. punetifera var. brasiliensis and Spiniferomonas triangu...