Description of new genera and species of marine cyanobacteria from the Portuguese Atlantic coast

Aiming at increasing the knowledge on marine cyanobacteria from temperate regions, we previously isolated and characterized 60 strains from the Portuguese foreshore and evaluate their potential to produce secondary metabolites. About 15% of the obtained 16S rRNA gene sequences showed less than 97% similarity to sequences in the databases revealing novel biodiversity. Herein, seven of these strains were extensively characterized and their classification was re-evaluated. The present study led to the proposal of five new taxa, three genera (Geminobacterium, Lusitaniella, and Calenema) and two species (Hyella patelloides and Jaaginema litorale). Geminobacterium atlanticum LEGE 07459 is a chroococcalean that shares morphological characteristics with other unicellular cyanobacterial genera but has a distinct phylogenetic position and particular ultrastructural features. The description of the Pleurocapsales Hyella patelloides LEGE 07179 includes novel molecular data for members of this genus. The filamentous isolates of Lusitaniella coriacea - LEGE 07167, 07157 and 06111 - constitute a very distinct lineage, and seem to be ubiquitous on the Portuguese coast. Jaaginema litorale LEGE 07176 has distinct characteristics compared to their marine counterparts, and our analysis indicates that this genus is polyphyletic. The Synechococcales Calenema singularis possess wider trichomes than Leptolyngbya, and its phylogenetic position reinforces the establishment of this new genus. © 2017 Elsevier

This work was funded by National Funds through FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, grants SFRH/BD/70284/2010 (to AB), SFRH/BD/80153/2011 (to VR), SFRH/BD/84914/2012 (to RM), and GACR 15-11912S (to JK) and by the project NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000012, Structured Programme on Bioengineering Therapies for Infectious Diseases and Tissue Regeneration, supported by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). This work was also supported by the Strategic Funding UID/Multi/04423/2013 through national funds provided by FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia and the Structured Program of R&D&I INNOVMAR - Innovation and Sustainability in the Management and Exploitation of Marine Resources (reference NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000035, Research Line NOVELMAR), funded by the Northern Regional Operational Program (NORTE2020) through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). We are grateful to Daniela Silva from Centro de Materiais da Universidade do Porto (CEMUP) - Porto - Portugal for technical assistance with SEM, to Paulo Oliveira from IBMC for the help with the GC measurements, and Sílvia Coimbra and Mário Costa from FCUP for providing access to the Leica DMLB microscope.