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Circumtropical distribution of the epiphytic dinoflagellate Coolia malayensis (Dinophyceae): Morphology and molecular phylogeny from Puerto Rico and Brazil
Author(s) -
Gómez Fernando,
Qiu Dajun,
OteroMorales Ernesto,
Lopes Rubens M,
Lin Senjie
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
phycological research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.438
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1440-1835
pISSN - 1322-0829
DOI - 10.1111/pre.12134
Subject(s) - biology , dinoflagellate , dinophyceae , epiphyte , subtropics , sister group , biogeography , genus , ecology , zoology , clade , phylogenetics , phytoplankton , biochemistry , nutrient , gene
SUMMARY The dinoflagellate genus Coolia , which contains potentially toxic species, is an important component of epiphytic assemblages in marine ecosystems. The morphology of C . malayensis has been illustrated from strains isolated in Asia and Oceania. In this study, strains of C . malayensis isolated from the Caribbean Sea in Puerto Rico, and for the first time from the South Atlantic Ocean in Brazil, were investigated by light, epifluorescence and scanning electron microscopies. No significant morphological differences between these new strains and other geographically distant strains of C . malayensis were observed. In the LSU r DNA phylogeny, the C . malayensis sequences from Brazil and Puerto Rico branched within the clade of strains from Oceania and Asia. The recently described species C . santacroce branched as a sister group of C . monotis , and C . palmyrensis was basal to the combined group of C. monotis/C. malayensis/C. santacroce . A tentative undescribed species from Florida and New Zealand branched as a sister group of C . malayensis . Our results confirm that C . malayensis showed a cosmopolitan distribution in tropical to subtropical waters, while the type species C . monotis remains endemic for the Mediterranean Sea and the temperate North Atlantic.