title: Aliterella atlantica gen. nov., sp. nov., and Aliterella antarctica sp. nov., novel members of coccoid Cyanobacteria.
abstract: Two Cyanobacteria isolated from South Atlantic Ocean continental shelf deep water and from a marine green algae inhabiting the Admiralty Bay, King George Island, Antarctica were investigated based on morphological and ultrastructural traits, phylogeny of 16S rRNA gene sequences, secondary structure of the 16S-23S internal transcribed spacer regions and phylogenomic analyses. The majority of these evaluations demonstrated that both strains differ from the genera of cyanobacteria with validly published names and, therefore, supported the description of the novel genus as Aliterella gen. nov. The identity and phylogeny of 16S rRNA gene sequences, together with the secondary structure of D1D1' and BoxB intergenic regions, further supported the two strains representing distinct species: Aliterella atlantica gen. nov., sp. nov. (type SP469036, strain CENA595T) and Aliterella antarctica sp. nov. (type SP469035, strain CENA408T). The phylogenomic analysis of A. atlantica sp. nov. CENA595T, based on 21 protein sequences, revealed that this genus belongs to the cyanobacterial order Chroococcidiopsidales. The isolation and cultivation of two geographically distant unicellular members of a novel cyanobacterial genus and the sequenced genome of the type strain bring new insights into the current classification of the coccoid group, and into the reconstruction of their evolutionary history.
authors.affiliation: University of São Paulo, Center for Nuclear Energy in Agriculture, Avenida Centenário 303, 13400-970 Piracicaba, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Janaina
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rigonato
authors.affiliation: Institute of Botany, Nucleus of Phycology, Avenida Miguel Estéfano 3687, 04301-012 São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Watson Arantes
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Gama
authors.affiliation: University of São Paulo, Center for Nuclear Energy in Agriculture, Avenida Centenário 303, 13400-970 Piracicaba, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Danillo Oliveira
authors.initials: DO
authors.lastname: Alvarenga
authors.affiliation: São Paulo State University UNESP, Institute of Bioscience, Languages and Exact Sciences, São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luis Henrique Zanini
authors.initials: LHZ
authors.lastname: Branco
authors.affiliation: University of São Paulo, Oceanography Institute, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Frederico Pereira
authors.initials: FP
authors.lastname: Brandini
authors.affiliation: University of São Paulo, Center for Nuclear Energy in Agriculture, Avenida Centenário 303, 13400-970 Piracicaba, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Diego Bonaldo
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Genuário
authors.affiliation: University of São Paulo, Center for Nuclear Energy in Agriculture, Avenida Centenário 303, 13400-970 Piracicaba, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marli Fatima
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Fiore
mesh_terms: D000864:Antarctic Regions; D001267:Atlantic Ocean; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D000458:Cyanobacteria / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D021901:DNA, Intergenic / Q000235:genetics; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D010802:Phylogeny; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D012623:Seawater / Q000382:microbiology*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D021901:DNA, Intergenic; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S