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Polyphasic examination on Merismopedia tenuissima CHAB 7021 from Ganjiang River, China revealed the polyphyly of the genus Merismopedia (Cyanobacteria)

  • ICTC-10 Special Issue: Cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins: responses and detection
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Abstract

Species in the cyanobacterial genus Merismopedia are present in freshwaters at different trophic levels, with some species even as the components of cyanobacterial blooms. However, species diversity in this genus was not fully verified by molecular investigation and polyphasic taxonomic studies. In this study, Merismopedia-like strain tenuissima CHAB 7021 was isolated from Ganjiang River in Jiangxi Province, China, and polyphasic characterization of this strain was performed by morphological observation, ultrastructural examination, chemical detection of pigments and phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences. Morphological identification of the strain was supported by the ultrastructural features, as the tiny species Merismopedia tenuissima Lemmermann. The phylogeny based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed at least three clades formed by the strains of Merismopedia. The three M. tenuissima strains including M. tenuissima CHAB 7021 was gathered in clade III with distant relationship to the clade I formed by the six Merismopedia strains including the type species M. punctata, and such a genetic distance may propose Merismopedia tenuissima to separate from Merismopedia genus. However intermixture relationship in between strains of M. punctate and M. glauca in the phylogenetic tree still complicated the taxonomic status in the genus Merismopedia. The process for taxonomic revision in the Merismopedia genus still await for examination and further information on more strains of type species M. punctata.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Life Science, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, 330022, China

    Liqin Shen  (沈丽琴), Suchao Ma  (马苏超) & Shouchun Li  (李守淳)

  2. Key Lab of Algal Biology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430072, China

    Fangfang Cai  (蔡芳芳), Gongliang Yu  (虞功亮) & Renhui Li  (李仁辉)

  3. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Fangfang Cai  (蔡芳芳)

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  1. Liqin Shen  (沈丽琴)
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  2. Suchao Ma  (马苏超)
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  3. Fangfang Cai  (蔡芳芳)
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  4. Gongliang Yu  (虞功亮)
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  5. Shouchun Li  (李守淳)
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  6. Renhui Li  (李仁辉)
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Correspondence to Shouchun Li  (李守淳) or Renhui Li  (李仁辉).

Additional information

Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41561005), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2017YFA0605201), and the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangxi Education Agency (No. 8870)

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Shen, L., Ma, S., Cai, F. et al. Polyphasic examination on Merismopedia tenuissima CHAB 7021 from Ganjiang River, China revealed the polyphyly of the genus Merismopedia (Cyanobacteria). J. Ocean. Limnol. 36, 1157–1165 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-018-7341-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-018-7341-0

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