Description of Myxacorys almedinensis sp. nov . (Synechococcales, Cyanobacteria) isolated from the limestone walls of the Old Cathedral of Coimbra, Portugal (UNESCO World Heritage Site)

Cyanobacteria are photoautotrophic microorganisms able to colonize historic stone monuments, causing severe aesthetic, physical and chemical alterations to the substrate. In a study that aimed to fingerprint the phototrophic community of the biodeteriorated walls of the Old Cathedral of Coimbra (UNESCO World Heritage Site), an unknown Myxacorys-like cyanobacterium was isolated. In this paper, we employed a polyphasic approach based on morphological, ecological and phylogenetic analyses of the partial 16S and the whole 16S-23S ITS rRNA regions. The resulting analyses allowed us to propose the description of a new species, Myxacorys almedinensis sp. nov. within the genus Myxacorys.