Morphology and phylogeny of Eudorina minodii (Chodat) Nozaki et Krienitz, comb. nov. (Volvocales, Chlorophyta) from Germany

Abstract

Morphology, sexual reproduction and phylogeny of a colonial green alga collected from Germany were studied in culture. Light and electron microscopy of the gelatinous (extracellular) matrix of vegetative colonies, the absence of obligately somatic cells, and the anisogamous sexual reproduction with sperm packets in this alga indicated that it is assignable to the genus Eudorina. This German alga was similar to E. elegans Ehrenberg in its multiple pyrenoids of nearly identical size and almost identical sized vegetative cells in the colony, but differed from it in having a prominent tubular structure (flagellar sheath) surrounding each flagellum in the gelatinous matrix of the vegetative colonies. Sexual reproduction was homothallic and dioecious. On the other hand, the vegetative morphology agreed well with that of Pandorina minodii Chodat with regard to multiple pyrenoids and the prominent flagellar sheaths. Thus, a new combination, Eudorina minodii (Chodat) Nozaki et Krienitz, is proposed. Molecular phylogenetic analyses of the rbcL-atpB gene sequences from the colonial Volvocales resolved that E. minodii and several heterothallic strains of E. elegans constituted a robust clade. Therefore, prominent flagellar sheaths and homothallic sexual reproduction in E. minodii may be derived characters that evolved recently within the clade.