Ecophysiology, secondary pigments and ultrastructure of Chlainomonas sp. (Chlorophyta) from the European Alps compared with Chlamydomonas nivalis forming red snow.

ABSTRACT: Red snow is a well-known phenomenon caused by microalgae thriving in alpine and polar regions during the melting season. The ecology and biodiversity of these organisms, which are adapted to low temperatures, high irradiance and freeze-thaw events, are still poorly understood. We compared two different snow habitats containing two different green algal genera in the European Alps, namely algae blooming in seasonal rock-based snowfields (Chlamydomonas nivalis) and algae dominating waterlogged snow bedded over ice (Chlainomonassp.). Despite the morphological similarity of the red spores found at the snow surface, we found differences in intracellular organization investigated by light and transmission electron microscopy and in secondary pigments investigated by chromatographic analysis in c

SUBMITTER: Remias D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4815433 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature