Abstract
SUMMARY A green alga was isolated from infected external human tissue. The alga consisted of spherical non-flagellate unicells, 3–13 µm in diameter, surrounded by a thick outer wall of variable thickness and containing a single bowl-shaped chloroplast without a pyrenoid. Asexual reproduction occurred through multiple autospores produced within the parental cell wall. 18S rRNA and 16S rRNA gene-sequence analyses indicated that the alga was closely related to ‘Chlorella’saccharophila. d-glucose considerably enhanced both phototrophic and heterotrophic growth. Compared with two other strains of ‘C.’saccharophila, the organism in the present study grew more rapidly at temperatures greater than 30°C in darkness, but it could not grow at 37°C in light or darkness. The results suggest that this strain may not normally invade tissues, but becomes established and grows on previously infected tissues of external body extremities where the temperature is somewhat lower than normal body temperature.
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