title: Cyanobacteria of Greece: an annotated checklist.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The checklist of Greek Cyanobacteria was created in the framework of the Greek Taxon Information System (GTIS), an initiative of the LifeWatchGreece Research Infrastructure (ESFRI) that has resumed efforts to compile a complete checklist of species reported from Greece. This list was created from exhaustive search of the scientific literature of the last 60 years. All records of taxa known to occur in Greece were taxonomically updated.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The checklist of Greek Cyanobacteria comprises 543 species, classified in 130 genera, 41 families, and 8 orders. The orders Synechococcales and Oscillatoriales have the highest number of species (158 and 153 species, respectively), whereas these two orders along with Nostocales and Chroococcales cover 93% of the known Greek cyanobacteria species. It is worth mentioning that 18 species have been initially described from Greek habitats. The marine epilithicAmmatoidea aegeadescribed from Saronikos Gulf is considered endemic to this area. Our bibliographic review shows that Greece hosts a high diversity of cyanobacteria, suggesting that the Mediterranean area is also a hot spot for microbes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany, School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Spyros
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gkelis
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany, School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Iordanis
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ourailidis
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany, School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Manthos
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Panou
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany, School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Nikos
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pappas
keywords:  Cyanophyceae ;  bacteria ; Aegean Sea; Mediterranean; biodiversity; blue-green algae; checklist; freshwater; marine; microorganisms