PJB-2022-551
Biological soil crusts revealed new species record and diverse cyanophytes in the arid suburbs of Rawalpindi, Pakistan
1. Lubna Anjum Minhas
Abstract
In the arid suburbs of Rawalpindi, we found as many as thirty species that belonged to seventeen genera and three major orders in the class Cyanophyceae. Based on species count, the orders Nostocales and Oscillatorales revealed more diverse (36.6%) as compared to the Chroococcales (16.6%). The genera Oscillatoria and Nostoc with 6 species (16.6%) were the most represented followed by Anabaena (10%), Chroococcus (10%), Phormidium and Lyngbya (6.6% each). Several genera such as Calothrix, Parakomarekiella, Gloeothecca, Aphanotheca, Leptolyngbya, Synechococcus, Spirulina, Planktothrix, Westilliopsis and Compactonostoc with one species (33%) each remained least represented. Most interestingly, Nostoc pruniforme, Anabaena oryzae, Anabaena gelatinicola, Calothrix javanica, Westiellopsis prolifica, Parakomarekiella sesnandensi, Compactonostoc shennongjiaensis, Oscillatoria lutea, Planktothrix agardhii and Leptolyngbya boryana are being reported for the first time as residents of biocrust soil substrate. Data collation on species distribution did not reveal any endemic species however recognized occurrence of species in Pakistan which are not yet reported from Asia. Hence, the arid suburbs of Rawalpindi are rich in cyanophytes, exhibiting local variation with several new records. Most of these strains showed an in vitro culturing response, and therefore warrants probing their ecological functioning in the arid environments of Asian continent.
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