Integrative Taxonomic, Ecological and Genotyping Study of Charophyte Populations from the Egyptian Western-Desert Oases and Sinai Peninsula.

Present-day information available on the charophyte macroalgae in Egypt, including their phylogenetic affinities, remains largely incomplete. In this study, nine charophyte populations were collected from different aquatic biotopes across the Egyptian Western-Desert Oases and Sinai Peninsula. All populations were investigated using an integrative polyphasic approach including phylogenetic analyses inferred from the chloroplast-encoded gene (L) and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS1) regions, in parallel with morphotaxonomic assignment, ultrastructure of the oospore walls, and autecology.