Occurrence of Prototheca Microalgae in Aquatic Ecosystems with a Description of Three New Species, Prototheca fontanea, Prototheca lentecrescens, and Prototheca vistulensis.

ABSTRACT: Prototheca species are unicellular, nonphotosynthetic, saprophytic, and occasionally pathogenic, microalgae, with an extensive environmental reservoir. This study explores, for the first time, the occurrence of Prototheca in aquatic ecosystems by using a molecular profiling approach. A total of 362 samples were collected from 80 natural and artificial waterbodies at 88 sampling sites in 26 localities across Poland during a 1.5-year period. The overall isolation rate of Prototheca from water environments was 14.1%. Prototheca were most prevalent in rivers of urbanized areas, indicating that the algae are primarily adapted to lotic ecosystems with a high input of organic matter. Interestingly, it is not the amount of organic matter per se but its quality th

SUBMITTER: Jagielski T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9680628 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature