Novel green algal isolates from the Egyptian hyper‐arid desert oases: a polyphasic approach with a description of Pharao desertorum gen. et sp. nov. (Chlorophyceae, Chlorophyta)

The biodiversity of terrestrial algae is still grossly understudied, and African deserts in particular are barely touched in this respect. Here, four coccoid green algae from oases in the Western Desert of Egypt were characterized using a combination of morphotaxonomic, ecological and 18S rDNA data,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of phycology 2018-06, Vol.54 (3), p.342-357
Main Authors: Saber, Abdullah A., Fučíková, Karolina, McManus, Hilary A., Guella, Graziano, Cantonati, Marco, Verbruggen, H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algae
Aquatic plants
Aridity
Betaine
Biodiversity
bioorganic analysis
Carotenoids
Chlorophyceae
Chlorophyll
Chlorophyta
chlorophytes
coccoid
cryptic species
Desert environments
Desert soils
Deserts
Diglycerides
DNA
Ecological monitoring
Egyptian oases
Fluidity
Lipids
Membrane fluidity
Microbiological strains
New species
New taxa
Oases
phylogeny
Soil
Storage
Taxa
Terrestrial environments
trebouxiophyte
Triglycerides
Viscosity
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Summary:The biodiversity of terrestrial algae is still grossly understudied, and African deserts in particular are barely touched in this respect. Here, four coccoid green algae from oases in the Western Desert of Egypt were characterized using a combination of morphotaxonomic, ecological and 18S rDNA data, with additional carotenoid and lipid analyses for two of the strains. Three strains were identified as affiliated with known taxa: Mychonastes sp., Asterarcys sp. (first report of this genus from a desert soil), and Stichococcus cf. deasonii. The fourth strain is proposed to represent a new cryptic genus Pharao gen. nov., with the type species P. desertorum sp. nov. The new taxon is sister to the clade of uncharacterized North American desert strains of Radiococcaceae (Chlorophyceae, Chlorophyta). The pigment profile of P. desertorum gen. et sp. nov. revealed carotenoids and chlorophylls typical of green algae. Bioorganic analysis showed a complex lipidome based on phospho‐ (PC), galacto‐ (MGDG and DGDG), betaine‐ (DGTS), and sulfoquinovosyl‐ (SQDG) membrane lipids, besides significant amounts of storage neutral lipids such as diacyl‐ (DAG) and triacylglycerols (TAG). The presence of saturated alkyl chains within all the membrane lipid classes in P. desertorum and Asterarcys sp. appears to reflect the need to maintain membrane fluidity and viscosity. In summary, African deserts likely still harbor new taxa to be described, and lipidomic analyses of such taxa may provide clues about their ability to survive in the extremely harsh desert habitats.
ISSN:0022-3646
1529-8817
DOI:10.1111/jpy.12645