Abstract

We present the results of electrophoretic analysis on eight species of the genus Scenedesmus for the first time. According to the phenogram, S. opoliensis and A. armatus are clustered in one froup and S. intermedius, S. communis, S. bicaudatus, S. elliposoideus, S. spinosus are separated into another group. The two groups are distinguished by cell shape and cell wall ultrastructure although there are distinct morphological characteristics which demarcate each species. The isozyme analysis indicates that genetic similarity between species of Scenedesmus is low but the similarity within a species is very high. Therefore, isozyme banding patterns can be useful tools in Scenedesmus taxonomy.

• Keywords: Scenedesmus; taxonomy; isozyme analysis; genetic relationship