Bibliographic Detail
Moniz, M.B.J., Rindi, F. & Guiry, M.D., 2012
Reference:
Moniz, M.B.J., Rindi, F. & Guiry, M.D. (2012). Phylogeny and taxonomy of Prasiolales (Trebouxiophyceae, Chlorophyta) from Tasmania, including Rosenvingiella tasmanica sp. nov. Phycologia 51(1): 86-97.
Abstract:
The order Prasiolales includes trebouxiophycean green algae widely distributed in polar and cold temperate regions.
Molecular data produced in recent years have shed considerable light on the phylogeny and genetic diversity of this
group. Most of the information available for the order, however, has been obtained for the northern hemisphere;
information for the southern hemisphere is comparatively scanty. Collections of Prasiolales were obtained from coastal
sites in southern and eastern Tasmania and studied by microscopic examination, culture experiments and molecular
analyses based on rbcL sequences. The results led to the discovery of a new species, Rosenvingiella tasmanica, which
represents a previously unknown lineage within the genus Rosenvingiella. Culture observations and molecular data
showed that collections from Tasmania previously identified as R. polyrhiza must be referred to R. constricta. This is the
first record of this species for the southern hemisphere and outside of Eurasia and North America. In the same way, the
molecular data revealed that the alga formerly known in Tasmania as Prasiola crispa is in fact referable to P. borealis.
This organism was found both as a free-living alga and in a lichenized form similar to the original collections from
North America. The rbcL gene sequence comparisons indicate a high genetic similarity between the Prasiolales of
Tasmania and those of Pacific North America.
