Prototheca spec. differentiation
| Feature | P. wickerhamii | P. zopfii | P. blaschkeae | P. stagnora | P. ulmea |
| Shape of colony | hemispheric, smoothly with smooth margin | flat, roughly, with central button and corrugated margin | flat, smoothly, with central button and corrugated margin | flat, smoothly with smooth margin | |
| Diameter of cells | 4 - 10 | 7 - 30 | 7 –14 | ||
| Assimilation of Glycerol | + | + | - | + | |
| Succrose | - | - | + | ||
| Trehalose | + | - | - | - | |
| n-Propanole | - | + | - | ||
| Arginine | + | + | - | + | |
| Growth at 37°C | + | + | + | - | |
| forming of mucous capsule | - | - | - | + |
Differentiation of genotypes (biotypes) within Prototheca zopfii