Massive Trentepohlia-Bloom in a Glacier Valley of Mt. Gongga, China, and a New Variety of Trentepohlia (Chlorophyta)

PLOS ONE, July 2012

22815686

Guoxiang Liu, Qi Zhang, Huan Zhu, Zhengyu Hu

Trentepohlia is a genus of subaerial green algae which is widespread in tropical, subtropical, and also temperate regions with humid climates. For many years, small-scale Trentepohlia coverage had been found on the rocks of some glacier valleys on the northern slopes of Mt. Gongga, China. However, since 2005, in the Yajiageng river valley, most of the rocks are covered with deep red coloured algal carpets, which now form a spectacular sight and a tourist attraction known as 'Red-Stone-Valley'. Based on morphology and molecular data, we have named this alga as a new variety: Trentepohlia jolithus var. yajiagengensis var. nov., it differs from the type variety in that its end cells of the main filament are often rhizoid, unilateral branches. This new variety only grows on the native rock, both global warming and human activity have provided massive areas of suitable substrata: the rocks surfaces of the Yajiageng river valley floodplain were re-exposed because of heavy debris flows in the summer of 2005; plus human activities such as tourism and road-building have also created a lot of exposed rock! In summer, the glaciers of the northern slopes of Mt. Gongga have brought to the valleys wet and foggy air, ideal for Trentepohlia growth. The cells of the new variety are rich in secondary carotenoids (astaxanthin?), which helps the algal cells resistance to strong ultraviolet radiation at high altitudes (they are only found on rock surfaces at alt. 1900-3900 m); the cells are also rich in oils, which gives them high resistance to cold dry winters.