Nitzschia anatoliensis sp. nov., a cryptic diatom species from the highly alkaline Van Lake (Turkey)
Cüneyt Nadir Solak,
Romain Gastineau,
Claude Lemieux,
Monique Turmel,
Ewa Gorecka,
Rosa Trobajo,
Mateusz Rybak,
Elif Yılmaz,
Andrzej Witkowski
Affiliations
Cüneyt Nadir Solak
Department of Biology, Arts and Science Faculty, Dumlupınar University, Kütahya, Turkey
Romain Gastineau
Institute of Marine and Environmental Sciences, University of Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland
Claude Lemieux
Département de biochimie, de microbiologie et de bio-informatique, Institut de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada
Monique Turmel
Département de biochimie, de microbiologie et de bio-informatique, Institut de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada
Ewa Gorecka
Institute of Marine and Environmental Sciences, University of Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland
Rosa Trobajo
Marine and Continental Waters Program, IRTA-Institute of Agriculture and Food Research and Technology, Sant Carles de la Ràpita, Catalonia, Spain
Mateusz Rybak
Department of Agroecology and Forest Utilization, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Land Management and Environmental Protection, University of Rzeszów, Rzeszów, Poland
Elif Yılmaz
Department of Biology, Arts and Science Faculty, Dumlupınar University, Kütahya, Turkey
Andrzej Witkowski
Institute of Marine and Environmental Sciences, University of Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland
In this article we describe Nitzschia anatoliensis Górecka, Gastineau & Solak sp. nov., an example of a diatom species inhabiting extreme habitats. The new species has been isolated and successfully grown from the highly alkaline Van Lake in East Turkey. The description is based on morphology (light and scanning electron microscopy), the sequencing of its organellar genomes and several molecular phylogenies. This species could easily be overlooked because of its extreme similarity to Nitzschia aurariae but molecular phylogenies indicate that they are only distantly related. Furthermore, molecular data suggest that N. anatoliensis may occur in several alkaline lakes of Asia Minor and Siberia, but was previously misidentified as Nitzschia communis. It also revealed the very close genetic proximity between N. anatoliensis and the endosymbiont of the dinotom Kryptoperidinium foliaceum, providing additional clues on what might have been the original species of diatoms to enter symbiosis.