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Abstract
Colonies of a new, stalked diatom species Gomphoneis tegelensis sp. nov. were sampled in September 2017 from Lake Tegel (Berlin, Germany) where this large species was first observed in 2009. Cultivation was attempted several times without success. A single-cell DNA extraction method was therefore tried to yield molecular and morphological data from non-cultured specimens. Single cells were selectively picked off their stalks and their cell walls broken to release the DNA, as PCR and sequencing of intact cells provided no results. To improve yield, the DNA of several cells was pooled after PCR. The remaining intact cells were used for ultrastructural studies under SEM. The closely related species Gomphoneis transylvanica is typified as a basis for proper taxon identification and for comparison with the newly described species. Gomphoneis tegelensis differs from G. transylvanica and Gomphoneis ohridana mainly in its striation pattern and the number of rows of areolae in each stria. Molecular data confirm that G. tegelensis belongs to the Cymbellales, but it does not belong to the Gomphonemataceae.
Acknowledgements
Dr. Eileen Cox, Dr. Koen Sabbe and two anonymous reviewers provided valuable comments on the manuscript. Many thanks are also due to Antje Köhler (Senatsverwaltung für Umwelt, Verkehr und Klimaschutz, Integrativer Umweltschutz, Wasserwirtschaft, Wasserrecht und Geologie) for providing physico-chemical water data from the Berlin Senate, and to Juliane Bettig (BGBM) for technical assistance with SEM investigation and Jana Bansemer in the molecular lab.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.