Phylogeny of the Subfamily Scotiellocystoideae (Chlorophyceae, Chlorophyta) and Related Taxa Inferred From 18s Ribosomal Rna Gene Sequence Data

Nuclear‐encoded small subunit ribosomal RNA gene (18SrDNA) sequences were determined for Coelastrella multistriata (Trenkwalder) Kalina et Punčochářová, two species of Scotiellopsis (S. oocystiformis (Lund) Kalina et Punčochářová and S. terrestris (Reisigl) Kalina et Punčochářová) and two species of Muriella (M. aurantiaca Vischer and M. terrestris Boye‐ Petersen). Coelastrella and Scotiellopsis are members of the subfamily Scotiellocystoideae, and Muriella is a member of the subfamily Chlorelloideae in the family Chlorellaceae. Phylogenetic trees were constructed based on these sequence data and on previously known 18SrDNA sequences of 25 taxa. Coelastrella and Scotiellopsis were closely related to each other and formed a cluster with Scenedesmus vacuolatus (Shihira et Krauss) Kessler et al. This cluster shared a monophyletic ancestry with other Scenedesmus species. Muriella aurantiaca formed a sister relationship with the monophyletic lineage of Scenedesmus. However, another species, M. terrestris, was placed in the Trebouxiophyceae and was strongly related to Chlorella. The genus Mychonastes belonging to the Scotiellocystoideae was also not monophyletic. This study suggests that the subfamily Scotiellocystoideae should be removed from the Chlorellaceae.