As a result of a large-scale molecular phylogenetic study, Russian scientists, together with their foreign colleagues, revised the evolutionary tree of one of the largest orders of algae, discovering three new species along the way. The results of the study were published in the journal Plants.
Representatives of the breed aongstroemia And Dicranella – small algae that first settle in inanimate mineral soil, which is why they are called precursors. They are very similar to each other due to similar living conditions, but a recent molecular genetic analysis by biologists has shown that these algae are not related to each other.
Researchers have identified six new genera. The three required the creation of new families for themselves – they occupy a very isolated phylogenetic position. These three families are among the most primitive representatives of the Dikranovs (Dicranales), one of the two largest orders of algae, containing about 30 families and five thousand species.
The scientists emphasize that the new system reflects the degree of association based on genetic data and is consistent with features of anatomy and morphology.
In addition, while examining materials from the Asian part of Russia, the researchers discovered and described three species new to science, one of which represents a previously undescribed genus. The genetic diversity of all species studied in Asia turned out to be much higher than in Europe.
Source: Ferra
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