Analysis of a New Strain of Pseudomuriella engadinensis (Sphaeropleales, Chlorophyta) for Possible Use in Biotechnology

Abstract

The species diversity of green coccoid algae is often difficult to study using light microscopy due to their complex morphology. Algae, which have morphological and ecological similarities with the genera Bracteacoccus Tereg., Dictyococcus Gerneck, and Pseudomuriella Hanagata, are one of the most taxonomically complex examples. Often, only a comparison of nucleotide sequences allows one to carry out a reliable identification and find out the phylogenetic identity of the studied objects. Pseudomuriella belongs to the group of genetically diverse genera with a homogeneous Bracteacoccus-like morphology. The combined use of two genetic markers (18S rDNA nuclear gene and chloroplast rbcL gene), along with light microscopy and comparison of fatty acid profiles, allowed the identification of the green algae strain isolated from the soil of the artificial pine and robinia plantation in the steppe zone of Ukraine as Pseudomuriella engadinensis (Kol et Chodat) Fučiková, Rada et Lewis—the first find of the species in the flora of algae in Ukraine. Analysis of the fatty acid composition of the studied strain’s cells showed that the total lipid content in the stationary growth phase was at the level of 87.9 ± 2.1 mg/g dry cell mass, and the main fatty acids were palmitic, hexadecadienoic, ruganic, oleic, linoleic, and α-linolenic—their share accounted for 82.4% of the total amount of fatty acids.