DNA Content of Stichococcus bacillaris (Trebouxiophyceae, Chlorophyta) Nuclei Determined with Laser Scanning Cytometry

Abstract

The unicellular green microalgal genus Stichococcus Nägeli propagates by binary fission. In the present study, we measured the DNA content of Stichococcus bacillaris Nägeli in propidium iodide stained nuclei using laser scanning cytometry (LSC). Using the nuclei of Ulva compressa Linnaeus and Saccharomyces cerevisiae Hansen as references, the nuclear genome size of S. bacillaris was calculated as 80 Mbp. This value is approximately 4 times larger than that of Nannochloris bacillaris (20.3 Mbp), another member of the Trebouxiophyceae that propagates by binary fission.