Applying an internal transcribed spacer as a single molecular marker to differentiate between Tetraselmis and Chlorella species

Frontiers in Microbiology

Microbiology

Ehab A. Essawy¹  Khairiah Mubarak Alwutayd²  Ola Hammouda³  Mohamed S. Abdelhameed³  Khaled N. M. Elsayed³  Wael A. Fathy⁴  Eman Tawfik⁵  Samir A. Ross⁶  Natascha Techen⁷ 

[1] Biochemistry Division, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Helwan University, Helwan, Egypt;Department of Biology, College of Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia;Department of Botany and Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef, Egypt;Department of Botany and Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef, Egypt;Faculty of Science and Informatics, Doctoral School of Biology, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary;Department of Botany and Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Helwan University, Helwan, Egypt;Faculty of Science and Informatics, Doctoral School of Biology, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary;Division of Pharmacognosy, Department of BioMolecular Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS, United States;National Centre for Natural Products Research, Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS, United States;

关键词: chlorophyta;    DNA barcoding;    microalgae identification;    internal transcribed spacer (ITS);    Tetraselmis;    Chlorella;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fmicb.2023.1228869

 received in 2023-06-07, accepted in 2023-08-04,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

In the realm of applied phycology, algal physiology, and biochemistry publications, the absence of proper identification and documentation of microalgae is a common concern. This poses a significant challenge for non-specialists who struggle to identify numerous eukaryotic microalgae. However, a promising solution lies in employing an appropriate DNA barcoding technique and establishing comprehensive databases of reference sequences. To address this issue, we conducted a study focusing on the molecular characterization and strain identification of Tetraselmis and Chlorella species, utilizing the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) barcode approach. By analyzing the full nuclear ITS region through the Sanger sequencing approach, we obtained ITS barcodes that were subsequently compared with other ITS sequences of various Tetraselmis and Chlorella species. To ensure the reliability of our identification procedure, we conducted a meticulous comparison of the DNA alignment, constructed a phylogenetic tree, and determined the percentage of identical nucleotides. The findings of our study reveal the significant value of the ITS genomic region as a tool for distinguishing and identifying morphologically similar chlorophyta. Moreover, our results demonstrate that both the ITS1 and ITS2 regions are capable of effectively discriminating isolates from one another; however, ITS2 is preferred due to its greater intraspecific variation. These results underscore the indispensability of employing ITS barcoding in microalgae identification, highlighting the limitations of relying solely on morphological characterization.

【 授权许可】

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Copyright © 2023 Fathy, Techen, Elsayed, Essawy, Tawfik, Alwutayd, Abdelhameed, Hammouda and Ross.