Molecular and taxonomical study of the genus Chara (Linnaeus 1753) in Israel

Israel's climate is characterized by hot and dry summers and cool, rainy winters in the northern and coastal regions, whereas the southern and eastern regions are arid. The aquatic macrophyte Chara is a common genus in Israel, and its distribution varies across Israel's climatic gradient. Although few studies described the abundance and taxonomy of the local Chara species in Israel, only little is known about the molecular taxonomy of this group in the region. We sampled Chara species along Israel's climatic gradient and identified specimens using the classical taxonomy key and molecular identification methods. We characterized the molecular taxonomy of four Chara species: C. vulgaris, C. contraria, C. gymnophylla, and C. globata. Notably, the latter species, which was found in a hyper-arid area, was last recorded in Israel ∼50 years ago on the northern Mediterranean coast and Judaean Mountains. Chara gymnophylla was more abundant in northern Israel, while C. vulgaris and C. contraria were common in southern Israel. We developed Inter Simple Sequence Repeat markers to identify the four species and sequenced their chloroplast gene rbcL. The phylogenetic trees generated using the rbcL sequences and ISSR-based dendrogram were consistent with the classical taxonomy of Chara.