CHLORELLA - BIOCHEMICAL TAXONOMY OF A GENUS OF SINGLE-CELLED GREEN-ALGAE OF INTEREST FOR RESEARCH AND BIOTECHNOLOGY

The algae of the genus Chlorella play an important role in research and biotechnology. They exhibit an almost complete lack of morphological characters and a remarkable biochemical and physiological diversity. It was shown that the previously chaotic taxonomy of the genus can be based entirely on species-specific combinations of biochemical and physiological characters. Therefore it is now possible to select for future research or for biotechnological purposes the species having the most suitable properties for the respective project. The application of DNA hybridization and sequencing of ribosomal RNAs revealed that the genus Chlorella is phylogenetically heterogeneous and comprises several groups of species separated by deep evolutionary gaps.