Anathece

Taxonomy

Order Synechococcales
Family Prochlorococcaceae
Genus Anathece*

*This page replaces the profile for Aphanothece, which was previously included in this site. Small-celled planktonic types, previously included in Aphanothece, were transferred to a separate genus, Anathece (Komárek et al., 2011). The morphological and ecological descriptions on this page have been updated to reflect the characteristics of Anathece, rather than the traditional genus Aphanothece.

Morphology

Microscopic colonies, irregularly shaped; irregularly arranged cells, loosely to densely arranged. Colonial mucilage fine, diffluent, and colorless; cells do not have their own individual mucilaginous envelopes. Oval to rod-shaped cells; small, mostly less than 3 μm long by about 1 μm wide. Cells mostly pale blue-green to greyish in color. 

Ecology

Common in freshwater plankton. Anathece is commonly observed by NJCWST in water samples from lakes and reservoirs.

References

Johansen, J. R., & Komárek, J. (2015). Coccoid Cyanobacteria. In J. D. Wehr, R. G. Sheath, & J. P. Kociolek (Eds.), Freshwater Algae of North America: Ecology and Classification (2nd ed., pp. 103-105). Waltham, MA: Elsevier.

Komárek, J. & Anagnostidis, K. (2008). Cyanoprokaryota-1. Teil/Part 1: Chroococcales. In H. Ettl, G. Gärtner, H. Heynig, & D. Mollenhauer (Eds.), Süßwasserflora von Mitteleuropa (Vol. 19/1, pp. 71-74). Heidelberg, Germany: Spektrum.

Komárek, J., Kaštovský, J., & Jezberová, J. (2011). Phylogenetic and taxonomic delimitation of the cyanobacterial genus Aphanothece and description of Anathece gen. nov. European Journal of Phycology, 46(3): 315-326. DOI: 10.1080/09670262.2011.606373 

Strunecký, O., Ivanova, A.P., & Mareš, J. (2023). An updated classification of cyanobacterial orders and families based on phylogenomic and polyphasic analysis. Journal of Phycology, 59: 12-51. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpy.13304