Charlotte Permann

• Master of Science
• PhD Student at University of Innsbruck

The globally distributed genus Zygogonium exhibits a narrow environmental range, with 19 morphologically described species. Its molecular characterization is poor, based on a single accession of the type species Z. ericetorum from Austria. We examined the genetic variability, morphology and ultrastructure of field-collected Zygogonium material from...

Streptofilum capillatum was recently described and immediately caught scientific attention, because it forms a phylogenetically deep branch in the streptophytes and is characterised by a unique cell coverage composed of piliform scales. Its phylogenetic position and taxonomic rank are still controversial discussed. In the present study, we isolated...

Recent research on a special type of sexual reproduction and zygospore formation in Zygnematophyceae, the sister group of land plants, is summarized. Within this group, gamete fusion occurs by conjugation. Zygospore development in Mougeotia, Spirogyra and Zygnema is highlighted, which has recently been studied using Raman spectroscopy, allowing che...

Zygnematophyceae are the algal sisters of land plants. Here we sequenced four genomes of filamentous Zygnematophyceae, including chromosome-scale assemblies for three strains of Zygnema circumcarinatum. We inferred traits in the ancestor of Zygnematophyceae and land plants that might have ushered in the conquest of land by plants: expanded genes fo...

Background: Zygnematophyceae green algae represent the closest living relatives of land plants. Adaptions to hydro-terrestrial environments are evident through the production of mucilage carbohydrates, which are secreted outside algal cell walls to retain water. However, the mucilage poses significant challenges for the extraction of high molecular...

Sexual reproduction of Zygnematophyceae by conjugation is a less investigated topic due to the difficulties of the induction of this process and zygospore ripening under laboratory conditions. For this study, we collected field sampled zygospores of Spirogyra mirabilis and three additional Spirogyra strains in Austria and Greece. Serial block-face...

Zygnematophyceae, a class of freshwater green algae, exhibit distinctive seasonal dynamics. The increasing frequency of cold snaps during the growing season might challenge the persistence of some populations. The present study explored the frost hardiness of two Mougeotia species isolated from different elevations and habitats. Additionally, a phy...

In polar regions, the microphytobenthos has important ecological functions in shallow-water habitats, such as on top of coastal sediments. This community is dominated by benthic diatoms, which contribute significantly to primary production and biogeochemical cycling while also being an important component of polar food webs. Polar diatoms are able...

The streptophyte green algal class Zygnematophyceae is the immediate sister lineage to land plants. Their special form of sexual reproduction via conjugation might have played a key role during terrestrialization. Thus, studying Zygnematophy-ceae and conjugation is crucial for understanding the conquest of land. Moreover, sexual reproduction featur...

The filamentous and unicellular algae of the class Zygnematophyceae are the closest algal relatives of land plants. Inferring the properties of the last common ancestor shared by these algae and land plants allows us to identify decisive traits that enabled the conquest of land by plants. We sequenced four genomes of filamentous Zygnematophyceae (t...

Zygnematophyceae, a class of streptophyte green algae and sister group to land plants (Embryophytes) live in aquatic to semi-terrestrial habitats. The transition from aquatic to terrestrial environments requires adaptations in the physiology of vegetative cells and in the structural properties of their cell walls. Sexual reproduction occurs in Zygn...

Streptophyte green algae comprise the origin of land plants and therefore life on earth as we know it today. While terrestrialization opened new habitats, leaving the aquatic environment brought additional abiotic stresses. More-drastic temperature shifts and high light levels are major abiotic stresses in semi-terrestrial habitats, in addition to...

Zygnematophyceae are main primary producers in polar hydro-terrestrial habitats, characterized by extreme abiotic conditions. They are expected to be strongly impacted by climate change, leading to threats to subpolar and polar ecosystems. Two isolates of Zygnema from a subpolar (Iceland, Zygnema sp. I) and a polar island (Svalbard, Zygnema sp. B)...

Charophyte green algae (CGA) are assigned to be the closest relatives of land plants and therefore enlighten processes in colonization of terrestrial habitats. For the transition from water to land, plants needed significant physiological and structural changes, also with regard to cell wall composition. Sequential extraction of cell walls of Nitel...

Mougeotia spp. collected from field samples were investigated for their conjugation morphology by light- , fluorescence-, scanning- and transmission electron microscopy. During a scalarifom conjugation, the extragametangial zygospores were initially surrounded by a thin cell wall that developed into a multi-layered zygospore wall. Maturing zygospor...

Extreme environments, such as alpine habitats at high elevation, are increasingly exposed to man-made climate change. Zygnematophyceae thriving in these regions possess a special means of sexual reproduction, termed conjugation, leading to the formation of resistant zygospores. A field sample of Spirogyra with numerous conjugating stages was isolat...

Zygnematophyceae green algae (ZGA) have been shown to be the closest relatives of land plants. Three nuclear genomes (Spirogloea muscicola, Mesotaenium endlicherianum, and Penium margaritaceum) of ZGA have been recently published, and more genomes are underway. Here we analyzed two Zygnema circumcarinatum strains SAG 698-1a (mating +) and SAG 698-1...