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ULTRASTRUCTURE AND 18S R RNA GENE SEQUENCE FOR PELAGOMONAS CALCEOLATA GEN. ET SP. NOV. AND THE DESCRIPTION OF A NEW ALGAL CLASS, THE PELAGOPHYCEAE CLASSIS NOV. 1
Author(s) -
Andersen Robert A.,
Saunders Gary W.,
Paskind Michael P.,
Sexton Julianne P.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
journal of phycology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.85
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1529-8817
pISSN - 0022-3646
DOI - 10.1111/j.0022-3646.1993.00701.x
Subject(s) - biology , ultrastructure , ribosomal rna , flagellum , contractile vacuole , gene , microbiology and biotechnology , vacuole , genetics , botany , cytoplasm
Pelagomonas calceolata gen. et sp. nov., an ultra‐planktonic marine alga, is described using electron microscopy and the cytoplasmic small subunit (18S) ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequence. Cells are uniflagellate, about 1.5 × 3 μm in size. The flagellium has two rows of bipartite hairs, the paraxonemal rod has a dentate appearance, and a two‐gyred transitional helix is present between two transitional plates. Microtubular roots, striated roots, and a second basal body are absent. A thin organic theca surrounds most of the cell. There is a single chloroplast with a girdle lamella and a single, dense mitochondrion with tubular cristae. A single Golgi body with swelled cisternae lies beneath the flagellum, and each cell has an ejectile organelle that putatwely releases a cylindrical structure. A vacuole, or cluster of vacuoles, contains the putative carbohydrate storage product. The 18S rRNA gene was sequenced completely in both directions, excluding three primer regions. When compared to the same gene sequence from other organisms, Pelagomonas calceolata gen. et sp. nov. occupies an unresolved position among other chromophyte algae and is distinct from members of any of these classes. Based on morphological, ultrastructural, and molecular data, we describe this alga as a new species, and we place this highly unusual new species in a new genus, family, order, and class.