As técnicas de DNA barcoding (código de barras de DNA) têm como objetivo principal a identificação taxonômica de organismos através da amplificação e análise de sequências de DNA curtas, padronizadas e previamente definidas. Apesar do sucesso relativo desta abordagem em animais usando um único locus, a aplicação deste método em plantas apresenta menor capacidade de identificar espécies usando uma única região gênica, levando a necessidade de utilização de múltiplos loci. Além disso, ainda há certo debate sobre qual região gênica seria mais apropriada para o DNA barcoding em plantas, embora as regiões plastidiais rbcL, matK e o espaçador intergênico trnH-psbA juntamente com o espaçador intergênico nuclear do RNA ribossomal (ITS) sejam as mais comumente utilizadas até então. As tribos Sisyrinchieae e Tigridieae da família Iridaceae foram testadas de acordo com diferentes métodos e marcadores indicados para o DNA barcoding em plantas. Os resultados indicaram uma alta universalidade para membros da tribo Sisyrinchieae, mas também revelaram uma capacidade de identificação de espécies considerada baixa. Apesar disto, os espaçadores ITS foram indicados como a melhor sequência para DNA barcoding em Sisyrinchieae. Em Tigridieae, problemas inerentes ao sequenciamento impediram a utilização dos ITS em nossas análises. Assim, apenas marcadores plastidiais foram utilizados na tentativa de identificar espécies, apresentando novamente resultados modestos. A região gênica que atingiu maior capacidade de identificação em Tigridieae foi o gene matK. A incapacidade de se alcançar maiores taxas de identificação provavelmente está relacionada à complexa história evolutiva apresentada pelos grupos em análise. Este trabalho forneceu o primeiro conjunto significativo de dados de DNA barcoding aplicados a dois importantes grupos de Iridaceae de considerável biodiversidade no Brasil. As tribos em análise apresentam espécies consideradas filogeneticamente próximas e são de difícil identificação devido a sua morfologia homogênea, principalmente em estado vegetativo, justificando plenamente o uso de métodos molecularespara a identificação taxonômica. / The main objective of DNA barcoding methods is the taxonomic identification of organisms by amplifying and analyzing short, standardized and previously defined DNA sequences. In spite of the relative success of this approach in animals using a single locus, the application of this method in plants has less ability to identify species using a single gene region, leading to the need of using multiple loci. Furthermore, there is still some debate concerning which gene region would be more suitable for DNA barcoding in plants, although the plastid regions rbcL, matK and the trnH-psbA intergenic spacer along with the nuclear intergenic spacer of ribossomal DNA (ITS) are the most commonly regions used thus far. The tribes Sisyrinchieae and Tigridieae of the family Iridaceae were tested according to different methods and markers used for DNA barcoding in plants. The results indicated a great universality for members of tribe Sisyrinchieae, but also showed a low ability to identify species. Nevertheless, ITS was imputed as the best sequence for DNA barcoding in Sisyrinchieae. In Tigridieae, problems inherent of ITS sequencing prevented its use in our analysis. Thus, only plastid markers were used in an attempt to identify species, showing modest results once again. The gene region that reached higher identification ability in Tigridieae was matK. The inability to achieve higher identification levels is probably related to the complex evolutionary history presented by the groups in question. This work provided the first large data set of DNA barcoding applied to two important groups of Iridaceae with significant biodiversity in Brazil. The tribes in question present species considered phylogenetically related and are difficult to identify due to their homogeneous morphology, especially in vegetative stage, fully justifying the use of molecular methods for taxonomic identification.

As técnicas de DNA barcoding (código de barras de DNA) têm como objetivo principal a identificação taxonômica de organismos através da amplificação e análise de sequências de DNA curtas, padronizadas e previamente definidas. Apesar do sucesso relativo desta abordagem em animais usando um único locus, a aplicação deste método em plantas apresenta menor capacidade de identificar espécies usando uma única região gênica, levando a necessidade de utilização de múltiplos loci. Além disso, ainda há certo debate sobre qual região gênica seria mais apropriada para o DNA barcoding em plantas, embora as regiões plastidiais rbcL, matK e o espaçador intergênico trnH-psbA juntamente com o espaçador intergênico nuclear do RNA ribossomal (ITS) sejam as mais comumente utilizadas até então. As tribos Sisyrinchieae e Tigridieae da família Iridaceae foram testadas de acordo com diferentes métodos e marcadores indicados para o DNA barcoding em plantas. Os resultados indicaram uma alta universalidade para membros da tribo Sisyrinchieae, mas também revelaram uma capacidade de identificação de espécies considerada baixa. Apesar disto, os espaçadores ITS foram indicados como a melhor sequência para DNA barcoding em Sisyrinchieae. Em Tigridieae, problemas inerentes ao sequenciamento impediram a utilização dos ITS em nossas análises. Assim, apenas marcadores plastidiais foram utilizados na tentativa de identificar espécies, apresentando novamente resultados modestos. A região gênica que atingiu maior capacidade de identificação em Tigridieae foi o gene matK. A incapacidade de se alcançar maiores taxas de identificação provavelmente está relacionada à complexa história evolutiva apresentada pelos grupos em análise. Este trabalho forneceu o primeiro conjunto significativo de dados de DNA barcoding aplicados a dois importantes grupos de Iridaceae de considerável biodiversidade no Brasil. As tribos em análise apresentam espécies consideradas filogeneticamente próximas e são de difícil identificação devido a sua morfologia homogênea, principalmente em estado vegetativo, justificando plenamente o uso de métodos molecularespara a identificação taxonômica. / The main objective of DNA barcoding methods is the taxonomic identification of organisms by amplifying and analyzing short, standardized and previously defined DNA sequences. In spite of the relative success of this approach in animals using a single locus, the application of this method in plants has less ability to identify species using a single gene region, leading to the need of using multiple loci. Furthermore, there is still some debate concerning which gene region would be more suitable for DNA barcoding in plants, although the plastid regions rbcL, matK and the trnH-psbA intergenic spacer along with the nuclear intergenic spacer of ribossomal DNA (ITS) are the most commonly regions used thus far. The tribes Sisyrinchieae and Tigridieae of the family Iridaceae were tested according to different methods and markers used for DNA barcoding in plants. The results indicated a great universality for members of tribe Sisyrinchieae, but also showed a low ability to identify species. Nevertheless, ITS was imputed as the best sequence for DNA barcoding in Sisyrinchieae. In Tigridieae, problems inherent of ITS sequencing prevented its use in our analysis. Thus, only plastid markers were used in an attempt to identify species, showing modest results once again. The gene region that reached higher identification ability in Tigridieae was matK. The inability to achieve higher identification levels is probably related to the complex evolutionary history presented by the groups in question. This work provided the first large data set of DNA barcoding applied to two important groups of Iridaceae with significant biodiversity in Brazil. The tribes in question present species considered phylogenetically related and are difficult to identify due to their homogeneous morphology, especially in vegetative stage, fully justifying the use of molecular methods for taxonomic identification.

As técnicas de DNA barcoding (código de barras de DNA) têm como objetivo principal a identificação taxonômica de organismos através da amplificação e análise de sequências de DNA curtas, padronizadas e previamente definidas. Apesar do sucesso relativo desta abordagem em animais usando um único locus, a aplicação deste método em plantas apresenta menor capacidade de identificar espécies usando uma única região gênica, levando a necessidade de utilização de múltiplos loci. Além disso, ainda há certo debate sobre qual região gênica seria mais apropriada para o DNA barcoding em plantas, embora as regiões plastidiais rbcL, matK e o espaçador intergênico trnH-psbA juntamente com o espaçador intergênico nuclear do RNA ribossomal (ITS) sejam as mais comumente utilizadas até então. As tribos Sisyrinchieae e Tigridieae da família Iridaceae foram testadas de acordo com diferentes métodos e marcadores indicados para o DNA barcoding em plantas. Os resultados indicaram uma alta universalidade para membros da tribo Sisyrinchieae, mas também revelaram uma capacidade de identificação de espécies considerada baixa. Apesar disto, os espaçadores ITS foram indicados como a melhor sequência para DNA barcoding em Sisyrinchieae. Em Tigridieae, problemas inerentes ao sequenciamento impediram a utilização dos ITS em nossas análises. Assim, apenas marcadores plastidiais foram utilizados na tentativa de identificar espécies, apresentando novamente resultados modestos. A região gênica que atingiu maior capacidade de identificação em Tigridieae foi o gene matK. A incapacidade de se alcançar maiores taxas de identificação provavelmente está relacionada à complexa história evolutiva apresentada pelos grupos em análise. Este trabalho forneceu o primeiro conjunto significativo de dados de DNA barcoding aplicados a dois importantes grupos de Iridaceae de considerável biodiversidade no Brasil. As tribos em análise apresentam espécies consideradas filogeneticamente próximas e são de difícil identificação devido a sua morfologia homogênea, principalmente em estado vegetativo, justificando plenamente o uso de métodos molecularespara a identificação taxonômica. / The main objective of DNA barcoding methods is the taxonomic identification of organisms by amplifying and analyzing short, standardized and previously defined DNA sequences. In spite of the relative success of this approach in animals using a single locus, the application of this method in plants has less ability to identify species using a single gene region, leading to the need of using multiple loci. Furthermore, there is still some debate concerning which gene region would be more suitable for DNA barcoding in plants, although the plastid regions rbcL, matK and the trnH-psbA intergenic spacer along with the nuclear intergenic spacer of ribossomal DNA (ITS) are the most commonly regions used thus far. The tribes Sisyrinchieae and Tigridieae of the family Iridaceae were tested according to different methods and markers used for DNA barcoding in plants. The results indicated a great universality for members of tribe Sisyrinchieae, but also showed a low ability to identify species. Nevertheless, ITS was imputed as the best sequence for DNA barcoding in Sisyrinchieae. In Tigridieae, problems inherent of ITS sequencing prevented its use in our analysis. Thus, only plastid markers were used in an attempt to identify species, showing modest results once again. The gene region that reached higher identification ability in Tigridieae was matK. The inability to achieve higher identification levels is probably related to the complex evolutionary history presented by the groups in question. This work provided the first large data set of DNA barcoding applied to two important groups of Iridaceae with significant biodiversity in Brazil. The tribes in question present species considered phylogenetically related and are difficult to identify due to their homogeneous morphology, especially in vegetative stage, fully justifying the use of molecular methods for taxonomic identification.

Seaweeds are among the five marine sub-sectors of species cultured in South Africa, with Ulva species cultured at a commercial scale. In South Africa, the annual production of Ulva is approximately 2000 tonnes (wet weight), with the majority of Ulva being grown in landbased paddle raceway systems receiving abalone effluent water. Cultured Ulva is mainly used as abalone feed and for bioremediation of farm effluent water. It is not sold but rather is used either as fresh feed or dried and incorporated into formulated feeds. The main commercial abalone farms growing Ulva in paddle raceway systems in South Africa are Irvin & Johnson (I&J) Cape Abalone, Abagold, Buffeljags Abalone and Diamond Coast Aquaculture in the Western Cape province, and Wild Coast Abalone in the Eastern Cape province. The main aim of this study is to precisely identify the cultured Ulva species as their identity is not clearly understood. This will provide information on the genetic diversity in the cultured material and could enable farmers to select for a species/strain that has the desired traits such as high nutritional value, rapid growth rate, resistance to diseases, and the ability to grow vegetatively, amongst others, so that the best feed is given to abalone. Next, the cultured Ulva species will be compared with closely related seashore Ulva species and with Ulva specimens from the main farming area in Hermanus to see if they are genetically similar. Ulva specimens from these farms, nearby seashores, including the Hermanus abalone farming complex in the New Harbour were identified using morpho-anatomical and molecular methods. The molecular markers employed in this study were the plastid large subunit of Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (rbcL), Internal Transcribed Spacer of nuclear ribosomal DNA (ITS nrDNA) and the elongation factor tufA. The 12 cultured Ulva specimens belonged in the U. lacinulata clade with weak support value of 0.57 for PP in the rbcL tree, high support value of 0.86 for PP in the ITS tree and high support value of 92% and 0.92 for BP and PP, respectively, in the tufA tree. The seashore U. capensis and farmed Ulva specimens belonged in the same large U. lacinulata clade in the rbcL tree. However, the U. capensis samples and the locally cultivated Ulva samples belonged in separate sister clades with a support value of 70% and 0.75 for BP and PP, respectively, in the ITS phylogenetic tree, and 97% and 1 for BP and PP, respectively, in the tufA phylogenetic tree. Therefore, the identity of the cultivated Ulva samples is U. lacinulata and the clade containing the U. capensis samples has now been labelled as U. uncialis as it is an older available name than U. capensis. Furthermore, the foliose U. lacinulata was also found growing attached near the inlets of the Hermanus abalone farming complex in New Harbour. There was no genetic variation within the farmed Ulva samples as they were collapsed as a single haplotype by the three molecular markers. The genetic distance between the U. uncialis and farmed U. lacinulata samples were 0.16%, 0.76% and 0.92% for the markers, rbcL, ITS and tufA, respectively. Even though the low sequence divergence between the farmed U. lacinulata and U. uncialis specimens fits within the range of variability, these two clades are separate species that are closely related. Incongruences between the molecular and morpho-anatomical identification methods were observed, as the morpho-anatomical identification method identified 9 of the 12 farmed Ulva specimens as U. lactuca and the remaining as U. rigida sensu Stegenga et al. (1997). Fewer Ulva species were resolved morphologically because of the overlap in morphological description within U. lactuca sensu Stegenga et al. (1997) and U. rigida sensu Stegenga et al. (1997). Additionally, three new records of Ulva species (U. ohnoi, U. australis and U. stenophylloides) for South African seashore specimens were molecularly identified in this study, and foliose U. compressa was recorded for the first time in the region. In this study, the molecular marker tufA, was the best marker to delimit species, as its internal clades were better supported compared to the other two markers and it was able to better separate the farmed U. lacinulata samples and the seashore U. uncialis samples into two different clades.

No description available.

No description available.

Palynology or the study of pollen, is essential understand the relationship between plants and their pollinators. Traditionally, pollen grains are identified by microscopy. The method has several shortcomings, such as being time-consuming and having low taxonomic resolution. DNA-barcoding-based sequencing can identify pollen at the genus and species levels without specialized paleontological expertise. Aim of this study is to assess which molecular approach can be the most effective tool and is the most cost-effective for the identification of pollen from mixed pollen samples. A DNA metabarcoding study was conducted using the rbcL barcode gene for pollen identification using two sequencing techniques: Sanger and MinION. DNA metabarcoding produced taxonomic data easily. For the analysis of Sanger and MinION sequencing data, BLAST and KRAKEN2 were used respectively. Pavian and KRONA were later used to visualize the MinION sequencing data. Various plant species native to Sweden were identified with this metabarcoding approach. However, the reference database failed to identify a few of them, thus indicating the need to expand the reference database.

A afiliação genérica de Fischerella e Hapalosiphon é problemática devido à instabilidade dos caracteres morfológicos. Os gêneros Fischerella e Hapalosiphon são diferenciados pela presença de tricoma multisseriado e uni ou bisseriado, respectivamente. Porém, geneticamente esses caracteres não se mostraram diacríticos para diferenciar gêneros. Estudos moleculares de linhagens isoladas de ecossistemas brasileiros são escassos para Fischerella e inexistentes para Hapalosiphon. Neste estudo, oito linhagens de cianobactérias, pertencentes à família Hapalosiphonaceae, isoladas de água doce e solos brasileiros foram caracterizadas morfologicamente e geneticamente e analisadas para a produção de substâncias bioativas. As análises morfológicas identificaram cinco morfotípos de Fischerella (CENA19, CENA161, CENA212, CENA213, CENA214) e três de Hapalosiphon (CENA63, CENA71, CENA72). As análises filogenéticas do RNAr 16S usando neighbor-joining (NJ) e máxima verossimilhança (MV) colocaram todas as linhagens isoladas em um agrupamento com alto suporte (reamostragens de 99% NJ e MV) contendo membros da ordem Nostocales. Além disso, as linhagens de Fischerella selecionadas para o estudo agruparam-se em um clado interno com alto valor de reamostragem (100% NJ e 86% MV), com exceção da Fischerella CENA19. A posição dessa estirpe na árvore filogenética indica que necessita de revisão taxonômica. As linhagens de solo Hapalosiphon CENA71 e CENA72 também formaram um clado interno separado (99% NJ e 98% MV), mas a linhagem de água doce CENA63 foi colocada em um clado diferente (com valores de reamostragens de 99% NJ e MV), juntamente com linhagens do gênero Hapalosiphon e Westielopsis prolífica SAG 16.93, oriundas de solo. A comparação das análises filogenéticas individuais de regiões dos genes RNAr 16S, rpoC1, rbcL, tufA, e cpcBA-IGS das três linhagens de Hapalosiphon e de duas linhagens de Fischerella, CENA19 e CENA161, mostrou resultados incongruentes devido as diferentes taxas evolutivas desses genes. No entanto, a análise filogenética concatenada desses genes, mostrou que a Fischerella CENA19 agrupou com as duas linhagens de Hapalosiphon CENA71 e CENA72, com alto valor de reamostragem (100%), enquanto que a Fischerella CENA 161 e a Hapalosiphon CENA63 posicionaram-se cada uma em clados separados. Os resultados indicam que a nomenclatura das linhagens de cianobactérias da família Hapalosiphonaceae necessita de revisão. Os extratos intra e extracelulares das linhagens Fischerella sp. CENA161 e CENA19 e Hapalosiphon sp. CENA71 e CENA72 mostraram efeitos inibitórios no crescimento de bactérias patogênicas. As análises em espectrômetro de massas Q-TOF MS/MS indicaram a putativa presença de aeruginopeptina, cianopeptolina, fischerelina, aeruginosina, oscilapeptilida, microcistinas e ácido tumonóico nos extratos. No extrato intracelular da Fischerella sp. CENA161 identificou-se três ou quatro variantes de microcistinas, LR, LL, FR e/ou M(O)R. Fragmentos dos genes mcyA, mcyB, mcyC, mcyD, mcyE, mcyG e mcyI dessa linhagem foram seqüenciados. Nas duas análises filogenéticas realizadas com sequências de aminoácidos de McyE e sequências concatenadas de McyD, McyE e McyG, as enzimas da microcistina sintetase ficaram agrupadas de acordo com os gêneros de cianobactérias indicando um padrão de evolução / The generic affiliation of Fischerella and Hapalosiphon is problematic due to instability of morphological characters. The Fischerella and Hapalosiphon genera are differentiated by the presence of trichome multisseriate and uni or bisseriate, respectively. However, genetically these characters were not diacritical to distinguish genera. Molecular studies of strains isolated from Brazilian ecosystems are scarce for Fischerella and absent for Hapalosiphon. In this study, eight cyanobacterial strains, belonging to Hapalosiphonaceae family, isolated from Brazilian freshwater and soil were morphologically and genetically characterized and analyzed for bioactive compound productions. The morphological analyses identified five Fischerella (CENA19, CENA161, CENA212, CENA213, CENA214) and three Hapalosiphon (CENA63, CENA71, CENA72) morphotypes. The neighbor-Joining (NJ) and maximum likelihood (ML) phylogenetic analyses of 16S rRNA placed all isolated strains in high supported (99% NJ and ML of bootstrap) cluster containing members of the order Nostocales. Furthermore, the Fischerella strains studied were grouped in an internal clade with high bootstrap value (100% NJ and 86% ML), with exception of Fischerella CENA19. The position of this strain in the phylogenetic tree indicates that it needs taxonomical revision. The soil Hapalosiphon strains CENA71 and CENA72 also formed a separated tight internal clade (99% NJ and 98% ML), but the freshwater strain CENA63 was placed in a different clade (99% NJ and ML of bootstrap value) together with Hapalosiphon strains genera and Westielopsis prolifica SAG 16.93, originated from soil. The comparison of the phylogenetic analyses of individual regions of the genes 16S rRNA, rpoC1, rbcL, tufA, and cpcBA-IGS from the three Hapalosiphon strains and the two Fischerella strains CENA19 and CENA161 showed incongruent results due to different evolutionary rates of these genes. However, the concatenated phylogenetic analysis of these genes, showed that Fischerella CENA19 grouped with the two Hapalosiphon strains CENA71 and CENA72 with high bootstrap value (100%), while Fischerella CENA 161 and Hapalosiphon CENA63 were positionated each one in separate clades. The results indicate that the nomenclature of cyanobacterial strains from the family Hapalosiphonaceae needs revision. The intra and extracellular extracts of the Fischerella sp. strains CENA161 and CENA19 and Hapalosiphon sp. strains CENA71 and CENA72 showed inhibitory effects on the growth of pathogenic bacteria. The analysis in the mass spectrometer Q-TOF MS/MS indicated the presence of aeruginopeptin, cyanopeptolin, fischerellin, aeruginosin, oscillapeptilide, microcystins and tumonoic acid in the extracts. In the intracellular extracts of Fischerella sp. CENA161, three or four variants of microcystins, LR, LL, FR and/or M(O)R, were identified. Fragments of genes mcyA, mcyB, mcyC, mcyD, mcyE, mcyG and mcyI of this strain were sequenced. In both phylogenetic analyses performed with amino acid sequences of McyE and concatenated sequences of McyD, McyE and McyG, the microcystin synthetase enzymes were grouped according to the cyanobacterial genera, indicating a pattern of evolution

A afiliação genérica de Fischerella e Hapalosiphon é problemática devido à instabilidade dos caracteres morfológicos. Os gêneros Fischerella e Hapalosiphon são diferenciados pela presença de tricoma multisseriado e uni ou bisseriado, respectivamente. Porém, geneticamente esses caracteres não se mostraram diacríticos para diferenciar gêneros. Estudos moleculares de linhagens isoladas de ecossistemas brasileiros são escassos para Fischerella e inexistentes para Hapalosiphon. Neste estudo, oito linhagens de cianobactérias, pertencentes à família Hapalosiphonaceae, isoladas de água doce e solos brasileiros foram caracterizadas morfologicamente e geneticamente e analisadas para a produção de substâncias bioativas. As análises morfológicas identificaram cinco morfotípos de Fischerella (CENA19, CENA161, CENA212, CENA213, CENA214) e três de Hapalosiphon (CENA63, CENA71, CENA72). As análises filogenéticas do RNAr 16S usando neighbor-joining (NJ) e máxima verossimilhança (MV) colocaram todas as linhagens isoladas em um agrupamento com alto suporte (reamostragens de 99% NJ e MV) contendo membros da ordem Nostocales. Além disso, as linhagens de Fischerella selecionadas para o estudo agruparam-se em um clado interno com alto valor de reamostragem (100% NJ e 86% MV), com exceção da Fischerella CENA19. A posição dessa estirpe na árvore filogenética indica que necessita de revisão taxonômica. As linhagens de solo Hapalosiphon CENA71 e CENA72 também formaram um clado interno separado (99% NJ e 98% MV), mas a linhagem de água doce CENA63 foi colocada em um clado diferente (com valores de reamostragens de 99% NJ e MV), juntamente com linhagens do gênero Hapalosiphon e Westielopsis prolífica SAG 16.93, oriundas de solo. A comparação das análises filogenéticas individuais de regiões dos genes RNAr 16S, rpoC1, rbcL, tufA, e cpcBA-IGS das três linhagens de Hapalosiphon e de duas linhagens de Fischerella, CENA19 e CENA161, mostrou resultados incongruentes devido as diferentes taxas evolutivas desses genes. No entanto, a análise filogenética concatenada desses genes, mostrou que a Fischerella CENA19 agrupou com as duas linhagens de Hapalosiphon CENA71 e CENA72, com alto valor de reamostragem (100%), enquanto que a Fischerella CENA 161 e a Hapalosiphon CENA63 posicionaram-se cada uma em clados separados. Os resultados indicam que a nomenclatura das linhagens de cianobactérias da família Hapalosiphonaceae necessita de revisão. Os extratos intra e extracelulares das linhagens Fischerella sp. CENA161 e CENA19 e Hapalosiphon sp. CENA71 e CENA72 mostraram efeitos inibitórios no crescimento de bactérias patogênicas. As análises em espectrômetro de massas Q-TOF MS/MS indicaram a putativa presença de aeruginopeptina, cianopeptolina, fischerelina, aeruginosina, oscilapeptilida, microcistinas e ácido tumonóico nos extratos. No extrato intracelular da Fischerella sp. CENA161 identificou-se três ou quatro variantes de microcistinas, LR, LL, FR e/ou M(O)R. Fragmentos dos genes mcyA, mcyB, mcyC, mcyD, mcyE, mcyG e mcyI dessa linhagem foram seqüenciados. Nas duas análises filogenéticas realizadas com sequências de aminoácidos de McyE e sequências concatenadas de McyD, McyE e McyG, as enzimas da microcistina sintetase ficaram agrupadas de acordo com os gêneros de cianobactérias indicando um padrão de evolução / The generic affiliation of Fischerella and Hapalosiphon is problematic due to instability of morphological characters. The Fischerella and Hapalosiphon genera are differentiated by the presence of trichome multisseriate and uni or bisseriate, respectively. However, genetically these characters were not diacritical to distinguish genera. Molecular studies of strains isolated from Brazilian ecosystems are scarce for Fischerella and absent for Hapalosiphon. In this study, eight cyanobacterial strains, belonging to Hapalosiphonaceae family, isolated from Brazilian freshwater and soil were morphologically and genetically characterized and analyzed for bioactive compound productions. The morphological analyses identified five Fischerella (CENA19, CENA161, CENA212, CENA213, CENA214) and three Hapalosiphon (CENA63, CENA71, CENA72) morphotypes. The neighbor-Joining (NJ) and maximum likelihood (ML) phylogenetic analyses of 16S rRNA placed all isolated strains in high supported (99% NJ and ML of bootstrap) cluster containing members of the order Nostocales. Furthermore, the Fischerella strains studied were grouped in an internal clade with high bootstrap value (100% NJ and 86% ML), with exception of Fischerella CENA19. The position of this strain in the phylogenetic tree indicates that it needs taxonomical revision. The soil Hapalosiphon strains CENA71 and CENA72 also formed a separated tight internal clade (99% NJ and 98% ML), but the freshwater strain CENA63 was placed in a different clade (99% NJ and ML of bootstrap value) together with Hapalosiphon strains genera and Westielopsis prolifica SAG 16.93, originated from soil. The comparison of the phylogenetic analyses of individual regions of the genes 16S rRNA, rpoC1, rbcL, tufA, and cpcBA-IGS from the three Hapalosiphon strains and the two Fischerella strains CENA19 and CENA161 showed incongruent results due to different evolutionary rates of these genes. However, the concatenated phylogenetic analysis of these genes, showed that Fischerella CENA19 grouped with the two Hapalosiphon strains CENA71 and CENA72 with high bootstrap value (100%), while Fischerella CENA 161 and Hapalosiphon CENA63 were positionated each one in separate clades. The results indicate that the nomenclature of cyanobacterial strains from the family Hapalosiphonaceae needs revision. The intra and extracellular extracts of the Fischerella sp. strains CENA161 and CENA19 and Hapalosiphon sp. strains CENA71 and CENA72 showed inhibitory effects on the growth of pathogenic bacteria. The analysis in the mass spectrometer Q-TOF MS/MS indicated the presence of aeruginopeptin, cyanopeptolin, fischerellin, aeruginosin, oscillapeptilide, microcystins and tumonoic acid in the extracts. In the intracellular extracts of Fischerella sp. CENA161, three or four variants of microcystins, LR, LL, FR and/or M(O)R, were identified. Fragments of genes mcyA, mcyB, mcyC, mcyD, mcyE, mcyG and mcyI of this strain were sequenced. In both phylogenetic analyses performed with amino acid sequences of McyE and concatenated sequences of McyD, McyE and McyG, the microcystin synthetase enzymes were grouped according to the cyanobacterial genera, indicating a pattern of evolution

Herbal medicines are growing in popularity in the Western world and are becoming more stringently regulated under new EU legislation. Within the arena of herbal medicines, St. John’s Wort (SJW), Hypericum perforatum, is a top ten best seller with clinical evidence to support its use as an anti-depressant. A fundamental requirement of the new legislation is to prove the identity of the plant material in question. This is currently achieved via morphological and chemical methods, neither of which are ideal. A wide range of DNA based methods have been applied to this arena, standardisation is required to realise the potential of DNA based techniques. The DNA barcoding initiative aims to produce sequence data for all plant species, capable of species identification. The proposal is to use these data to design fast and effective DNA based methods of identification. For assay design, the putative barcode region nrITS was selected as a platform. Three assays were designed; • A PCR assay designed to hyper variable sequences within a barcode region. This assay is capable of distinguishing SJW from other closely related species. • A quantitative qPCR assay designed to measure total DNA and specific SJW DNA within a mixed sample. • A multiplex PCR incorporating fluorescently labelled primers, allowing amplicon detection by capillary electrophoresis. This assay identifies four separate Hypericum species, including SJW, with a mixed sample in one reaction. The suitability of the nrITS and three other barcode regions is assessed based on sequence data generated for 32 vouchered samples of different Hypericum species, and a Lithuanian sample set of 22 and 16 H. perforatum and H. maculatum samples respectively. The matK is currently unusable, the rbcL highly conserved, trnH-psbA problematically variable and the nrITS proved to be ideal for assay design.