Schmidleinema santiniketanense sp. nov. (Cyanobacteria/ Cyanoprokaryota) from a building facade in Santiniketan, India

A new species of cyanobacteria, Schmidleinema santiniketanense sp. nov., has been discovered on the facade of a building in Santiniketan, India. This finding expands the known diversity of the monotypic genus Schmidleinema, which was previously only represented by S. indicum and had no molecular data available. The new species exhibits distinct morphological characteristics, particularly in its sheath structure and branching pattern, setting it apart from its congener. Phylogenetic analysis using 16S rRNA gene sequences placed the new species within the family Fischerellaceae, providing insights into its evolutionary relationships with other heterocystous and branched cyanobacteria. This discovery contributes to our understanding of aero-terrestrial cyanobacterial flora in tropical regions.

KESHARI, N., DAS, S. K., & ADHIKARY, S. P. (2016). Schmidleinema santiniketanense sp. nov. (Cyanobacteria/ Cyanoprokaryota) from a building facade in Santiniketan, India. Phytotaxa, 283(2). https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.283.2.7