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A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE RED ALGA GRATELOUPIA FILICINA (HALYMENIACEAE) FROM THE NORTHWESTERN PACIFIC AND MEDITERRANEAN WITH THE DESCRIPTION OF GRATELOUPIA ASIATICA , SP. NOV.
Author(s) -
Kawaguchi Shigeo,
Wang Hong Wei,
Horiguchi Takeo,
Sartoni Gianfranco,
Masuda Michio
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of phycology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.85
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1529-8817
pISSN - 0022-3646
DOI - 10.1046/j.1529-8817.2001.037003433.x
Subject(s) - thallus , biology , botany , phylogenetic tree , gene , biochemistry
Morphological observations and molecular analyses of the red alga Grateloupia filicina (Halymeniaceae) from two geographically distant regions, eastern Asia (Japan and northern China) in the northwestern Pacific and Italy in the Mediterranean, reveal the presence of two distinct entities. Morphologically, the eastern Asian entity differs substantially from the Italian entity in the following ways: 1) thin and soft thalli with wider axes, 2) denser medullary filaments, 3) scattered reproductive structures over the entire thallus, and 4) a mature auxiliary cell that is oval and slightly larger than other ampullary cells. Phylogenetic analysis based on the ribulose‐1,5‐bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase gene ( rbc L) sequences revealed that the eastern Asian and Italian entities are phylogenetically far apart, strongly supporting the differentiation of these two entities at the species level. The eastern Asian entity is therefore described as a new species, Grateloupia asiatica. This species can be distinguished from most known species of Grateloupia that have widely flattened thalli by its compressed to narrowly flattened axes with numerous pinnate proliferations and from a few species with similar thalli by a particular combination of features, including a gelatinous texture, mostly simple and narrower axes, a thinner cortex, and the absence of catenate proliferations.