Open AccessDesikacharya gen. nov., a phylogenetically distinct genus of Cyanobacteria along with the description of two new species, Desikacharya nostocoides sp. nov. and Desikacharya soli sp. nov., and reclassification of Nostoc thermotolerans to Desikacharya thermotolerans comb. nov.
Author(s) -
Aniket Saraf,
Himanshu G. Dawda,
Prashant Singh
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
international journal of systematic and evolutionary microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.925
H-Index - 173
eISSN - 1466-5034
pISSN - 1466-5026
DOI - 10.1099/ijsem.0.003093
Subject(s) - biology , nostoc , clade , phylogenetic tree , botany , taxonomy (biology) , genus , taxon , cyanobacteria , phylogenetics , zoology , bacteria , gene , genetics
Two Nostoc-like strains have been isolated, purified, cultured and identified on the basis of the polyphasic approach using morphological, ecological, molecular and phylogenetic methods. Both strains were found to have morphology similar to the genus Nostoc, but clustered strongly in a group distant from the Nostocsensu stricto clade. Further analysis, using the folded structures of the 16S-23S ITS region revealed strong differences from closely related members of the genus Nostoc. Distinct phylogenetic clustering and strong tree topologies using Bayesian inference, maximum-likelihood and maximum-parsimony methods indicated the need to revisit the taxonomy of the members of this particular clade with a clear need for giving a generic status distinct from the genus Nostoc. In accordance with the International Code of Nomenclature for Algae, Fungi and Plants, the name Desikacharya gen. nov. is proposed for the new genus along with the description of two new species, Desikacharya nostocoides sp. nov. and Desikacharya soli sp. nov., and reclassification of Nostoc thermotolerans to Desikacharya thermotolerans comb. nov.