Further observations on the genetics and morphometries of Coolia santacroce (Dinophyceae)

Abstract

Coolia santacroce is a newly described epibenthic dinoflagellate species collected from the U.S. Virgin Islands. The original description indicates this species is unique from others in the Coolia monotis complex due to the relative size of the apical pore complex, broad range of pore sizes, and ribosomal DNA. The original description was done based on the isolation and cultivation of one isolate of the organism. In this study, we report three more isolates of Coolia santa-croce collected from the Bahamas. Morphological observations were made using scanning electron microscopy that do not correspond to those from the original description, indicating the variability of the morphological features. However, analysis of the D1/D2 regions of the large subunit rDNA places the three strains in a strongly supported monophyletic clade with the type specimen.