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Issue: Vol. 419 No. 1: 30 September 2019
Type: Article
Published: 2019-09-30
DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.419.1.5
Page range: 77–90
Abstract views: 17
PDF downloaded: 1

Description of Myxacorys almedinensis sp. nov. (Synechococcales, Cyanobacteria) isolated from the limestone walls of the Old Cathedral of Coimbra, Portugal (UNESCO World Heritage Site)

CFE - Centre for Functional Ecology – Science for People & the Planet, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal
CFE - Centre for Functional Ecology – Science for People & the Planet, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal
CFE - Centre for Functional Ecology – Science for People & the Planet, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal
CFE - Centre for Functional Ecology – Science for People & the Planet, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal
CFE - Centre for Functional Ecology – Science for People & the Planet, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal
CFisUC – Center for Physics of the University of Coimbra, Department of Physics, University of Coimbra, 3004-516 Coimbra, Portugal
Geosciences Center, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Coimbra, 3030-790 Coimbra, Portugal
QOPNA & LAQV-REQUIMTE, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
CFE - Centre for Functional Ecology – Science for People & the Planet, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal
Limestone UNESCO 16S rRNA 16S-23S ITS polyphasic approach Algae

Abstract

Cyanobacteria are photoautotrophic microorganisms able to colonize historic stone monuments, causing severe aesthetic, physical and chemical alterations to the substrate. In a study that aimed to fingerprint the phototrophic community of the biodeteriorated walls of the Old Cathedral of Coimbra (UNESCO World Heritage Site), an unknown Myxacorys-like cyanobacterium was isolated. In this paper, we employed a polyphasic approach based on morphological, ecological and phylogenetic analyses of the partial 16S and the whole 16S-23S ITS rRNA regions. The resulting analyses allowed us to propose the description of a new species, Myxacorys almedinensis sp. nov. within the genus Myxacorys.