Ataktogamous green microalgae of the genus Chlorosarcinopsis Herndon (Chlorophyceae, Chlorophyta) from Zabaikalskiy region (Russia)

Abstract

The algae described in this paper appeared in enrichment culture from epiphytic mosses sample collected in southern Zabaikalie (Russia). This organism forms 2–8-celled and 3-dimensional packages of irregular shape. Vegetative cells are spherical, ellipsoidal and ovoid when solitary; cells with thin wall, thickening with age and occasionally with a unipolar manner. The cells and packages are devoid of a gelatinous matrix. There are akinete-like cells with sculptured cell wall. Sexual reproduction is ataktogamic. The results of morphologic and molecular phylogenetic studies allow us to attribute the alga to the genus Chlorosarcinopsis and show a high similarity with C. dissociata and C. bastropiensis. However, obtained data do not prove its identity to any known species of the genus.