Makinoella parva,a new species of the genus Makinoella(Oocystaceae,Trebouxiophyceae,Chlorophyta)

Makinoella Okada is a genus of coccoid green algae belonging to the family Oocystaceae with typical morphological characteristics.Reports to date included only one type species.Since the genus is rarely reported,there is a lack of taxonomic research.In this study,17 strains of this genus were collected from several different places in China,and their taxonomic studies were conducted based on morphological and molecular phylogenetic analysis.The phylogenetic results based on the analysis of ITS,chloroplast genes rbc L and tuf A showed that the genus was divided into two branches.One of the branches comprised newly collected algae.Compensatory base changes(CBCs)and hemi-compensatory base changes(hemi-CBCs)within the secondary structure of the ITS-2 confirmed the branches as two species.Compared with the type species of Makinoella tosaensis,the cell size of this new branch was only about 50%,and included 2-4 colonial cells.Therefore,based on the smaller cell size,simpler colony composition,independent phylogenetic position and CBCs and hemi-CBCs,we suggest that the new clade should be designated as a new taxon of Makinoella,namely Makinoella parva.Among the four molecular markers using in this study,the rbc L and newly introduced ITS are recommended for species separation,which can help further studies to revise the species and generic concepts of the family.

Neglectella glomerata sp.nov.,a new species and implications for the systematics of the genus Neglectella(Oocystaceae,Trebouxiophyceae,Chlorophyta)

The genus Neglectella Vodenicarov&Benderliev has a morphology similar to the well-known genus Oocystis,except for the numerous chloroplasts stacked in the surface layer of the cell.Neglectella subsequently experienced complex taxonomy changes with members being transferred in and out,and five species are now accepted.In this study,a new alga with morphology corresponding to this genus was collected in China and successfully cultured in laboratory.Morphological observations in light microscopy and transmission electronic microscopy(TEM)and phylogenetic analyses revealed that it is a new species,described here as Neglectella glomerata sp.nov.It differed from other Neglectella species due to a morphological difference in its unique mucilaginous colony with a large number of cells,multiple pyrenoids in each chloroplast,smaller cell size,and more elongated cell shape.Phylogenetic analyses placed this alga in the subfamily Eremosphaeroideae of the family Oocystaceae and showed its close relationship with Neglectella peisonis.Further morphological comparisons combined with phylogenetic results revealed three different morphological types in Neglectella.The new type represented by our new species may represent a transitional morphology in intermediate taxonomic position between the other two types.The diversity of morphological types in Neglectella suggests that further unknown species of this genus are likely to be discovered in the future.More collections and DNA sequence data will be needed in the future for this genus.