title: Photosynthetic plasticity in the green algal speciesKlebsormidium flaccidum(Streptophyta) from a terrestrial and a freshwater habitat.
abstract: The genusKlebsormidium(Klebsormidiales, Streptophyta) has a worldwide distribution in terrestrial habitats. In the present study, we focused on two strains ofKlebsormidium flaccidum, the type species of the genus. The isolates used in this study were isolated from a soil and freshwater habitat. Photosynthetic activity was evaluated under different controlled gradients of light, temperature and desiccation. The data clearly indicate that both isolates ofK. flaccidumexhibit conspicuously different photosynthetic response patterns to photon fluence rate, temperature and desiccation, and thus can be related to their different habitats. Although both strains represent the same species, their physiological response patterns to abiotic gradients, as well as their morphology differed to some extent, indicating high phenotypic plasticity ofK. flaccidum, which was maintained even after long-term culture and thus can be explained by the formation of physiologically distinct ecotypes.
authors.affiliation: University of Rostock, Institute of Biological Sciences, Applied Ecology and Phycology, Albert-Einstein-Strasse 3, D-18059 Rostock, Germany.
authors.forename: Ulf
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Karsten
authors.affiliation: University of Innsbruck, Institute of Botany, Functional Plant Biology, Sternwartestrasse 15, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria.
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Herburger
authors.affiliation: University of Innsbruck, Institute of Botany, Functional Plant Biology, Sternwartestrasse 15, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Holzinger
keywords: biological soil crust; desiccation; ecological tolerance; ecotypic differentiation; photosynthesis; respiration