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Pinguiochrysis pyriformis gen. et sp. nov. (Pinguiophyceae), a new picoplanktonic alga isolated from the Pacific Ocean
Author(s) -
Kawachi Masanobu,
Atsumi Mika,
Ikemoto Hisato,
Miyachi Shigetoh
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
phycological research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.438
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1440-1835
pISSN - 1322-0829
DOI - 10.1046/j.1440-1835.2002.00262.x
Subject(s) - biology , pyrenoid , picoplankton , chloroplast , ultrastructure , tetrahymena pyriformis , botany , thylakoid , cyanobacteria , paleontology , bacteria , microbiology and biotechnology , gene , biochemistry , tetrahymena
SUMMARY Pinguiochrysis pyriformis gen. et sp. nov. is a brown, naked, non‐motile, marine picoplankton. A culture was established from a surface sample collected in 1991 from the tropical Western Pacific Ocean. Typical cells of P. pyriformis are distinctively pear‐shaped and have one ovoid chloroplast; these two features distinguish this species from the other picophytoplankton species. However, the pyriform morphology is not consistent and cells frequently change to a subspherical shape. The chloroplast and mitochondrion ultrastructure confirm that this species belongs to the photosynthetic stramenopiles (chromophytes). Additional distinctive ultrastructural characteristics of P. pyriformis include (i) a chloroplast envelope forming a tubular invagination that penetrates into the pyrenoid; (ii) thylakoid lamellae consisting of more than three layers in some cells; (iii) the lack of basal bodies and centrioles; and (iv) the lack of scales or other extracellular structures. Based on the morphological features, this picoplanktonic species was described as a new species and placed in the Pinguiophyceae on the basis of the molecular phylogenetic analysis and biochemical data published elsewhere.