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Updates on Section Pseudo-opuntia of Halimeda: phylogenetic analyses of H. soniae sp. nov. (Bryopsidales, Chlorophyta) along the Brazilian coast

  • Caroline Feijão Ximenes

    Caroline Feijão Ximenes has a Master’s degree and PhD in Botany from the Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco (Brazil), obtained in 2019, where she has been developing studies on taxonomy, molecular phylogeny, and species delimitations of marine seaweeds, especially Halimeda.

     EMAIL logo     , Maria de Fátima de Oliveira-Carvalho

    Maria de Fátima de Oliveira-Carvalho is a biologist, with a Master’s degree and PhD in Botany from the Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco. Her research focuses on studies of macroalgae taxonomy, ecology, and molecular biology.

         , Maria Elizabeth Bandeira-Pedrosa

    Maria Elizabeth Bandeira-Pedrosa holds a Master’s degree and PhD in Botany from the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco. She is a biologist at the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, and currently collaborates with the Macroalgae Laboratory Team – Department of Oceanography of the Federal University of Pernambuco, in the identification of the macroalgae of the PELD Project Tamandaré – Spatial Dynamics and Marine Ecosystems: Connectivity, Resilience and Sustainable Use in southern Pernambuco State.

         and Valéria Cassano

    Valéria Cassano is the Herbarium Curator at the University of São Paulo (SPF-Algae). She received her PhD from the São Paulo Botany Institute for her research on the taxonomy and phylogeny of the Laurencia complex (Ceramiales, Rhodophyta). She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Botany, University of São Paulo, focusing her research on systematics and the molecular phylogeny of seaweeds.
Published/Copyright: July 10, 2019
Botanica Marina
From the journal Botanica Marina Volume 62 Issue 4

Abstract

Halimeda is a genus of green seaweed showing high morphological plasticity. Studies using molecular markers for species delimitations and phylogenetics have revealed cryptic diversity and new species throughout the world. Seven species of Halimeda are currently recognized in Brazil. The present study describes the new species Halimeda soniae Ximenes, Oliveira-Carvalho, M. E. Bandeira-Pedrosa et Cassano sp. nov. to accommodate the taxon previously identified as Halimeda aff. gracilis for Brazil. Samples of H. soniae were collected in Espírito Santo State (southeastern Brazil), and plastid gene sequences of tufA and rbcL were obtained. Phylogenetic analyses showed that H. soniae belongs to Section Pseudo-opuntia, together with Halimeda gracilis and Halimeda lacrimosa; the three species have overlapping morpho-anatomical features. Phylogenetic analyses suggest that H. gracilis is restricted to the Indo-Pacific Ocean, whereas the other two species appear to be restricted to the Atlantic. Additional research on Caribbean specimens will be necessary to resolve the taxonomic position of the taxa named as H. lacrimosa and H. gracilis in that region. Based on our results, H. gracilis does not occur in the Brazilian marine flora.

Keywords: Chlorophyta; molecular phylogeny; rbcL; taxonomy; tufA

About the authors

Caroline Feijão Ximenes

Caroline Feijão Ximenes has a Master’s degree and PhD in Botany from the Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco (Brazil), obtained in 2019, where she has been developing studies on taxonomy, molecular phylogeny, and species delimitations of marine seaweeds, especially Halimeda.

Maria de Fátima de Oliveira-Carvalho

Maria de Fátima de Oliveira-Carvalho is a biologist, with a Master’s degree and PhD in Botany from the Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco. Her research focuses on studies of macroalgae taxonomy, ecology, and molecular biology.

Maria Elizabeth Bandeira-Pedrosa

Maria Elizabeth Bandeira-Pedrosa holds a Master’s degree and PhD in Botany from the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco. She is a biologist at the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, and currently collaborates with the Macroalgae Laboratory Team – Department of Oceanography of the Federal University of Pernambuco, in the identification of the macroalgae of the PELD Project Tamandaré – Spatial Dynamics and Marine Ecosystems: Connectivity, Resilience and Sustainable Use in southern Pernambuco State.

Valéria Cassano

Valéria Cassano is the Herbarium Curator at the University of São Paulo (SPF-Algae). She received her PhD from the São Paulo Botany Institute for her research on the taxonomy and phylogeny of the Laurencia complex (Ceramiales, Rhodophyta). She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Botany, University of São Paulo, focusing her research on systematics and the molecular phylogeny of seaweeds.

Acknowledgments

We are very grateful to our colleague Fernando Scherner for his help with the collection material, and Michael Wynne for his valuable comments. This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brasil (CAPES) – Funder id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100002322, Finance Code 001. CFX thanks the Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Tecnologia (CNPq) for the scholarships awarded (funder id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100003593, 132493/2013-6; 140798/2015-3), and VC thanks CNPq for the Productivity Fellowship (302549/2017-0).

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Supplementary Material

The online version of this article offers supplementary material (https://doi.org/10.1515/bot-2018-0094).

Received: 2018-10-08
Accepted: 2019-06-04
Published Online: 2019-07-10
Published in Print: 2019-08-27

© 2019 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. In this issue
  3. Physiology and ecology
  4. Application of deep learning techniques for determining the spatial extent and classification of seagrass beds, Trang, Thailand
  5. First spatial distribution of potentially toxic benthic dinoflagellates in the Lesser Antilles (Guadeloupe and Martinique), Caribbean Sea
  6. A comparative analysis of the organic and inorganic carbon content of Halimeda and Penicillus (Chlorophyta, Bryopsidales) in a coastal subtropical lagoon
  7. Taxonomy/phylogeny and biogeography
  8. Updates on Section Pseudo-opuntia of Halimeda: phylogenetic analyses of H. soniae sp. nov. (Bryopsidales, Chlorophyta) along the Brazilian coast
  9. Notes on the benthic marine algae of Puerto Rico. XII: additions to the flora
  10. Molecular and morphological reappraisal of Spyridiocolax capixabus (Spyridiaceae, Rhodophyta), a rare endemic parasite from Brazil
  11. Fourth addendum to the synoptic review of red algal genera
  12. Genomics
  13. Comparison of proteomic profiles of the phaeophyte Saccharina japonica thalli proximal to and beneath the front of epiphytic hydrozoan colonies against healthy tissue
  14. Chemistry and applications
  15. First insight into the phenolic content of Spartina maritima: isolation, characterization and quantification of four C-glycosidic flavonoids
https://doi.org/10.1515/bot-2018-0094
Keywords for this article
Chlorophyta; molecular phylogeny; rbcL; taxonomy; tufA

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. In this issue
  3. Physiology and ecology
  4. Application of deep learning techniques for determining the spatial extent and classification of seagrass beds, Trang, Thailand
  5. First spatial distribution of potentially toxic benthic dinoflagellates in the Lesser Antilles (Guadeloupe and Martinique), Caribbean Sea
  6. A comparative analysis of the organic and inorganic carbon content of Halimeda and Penicillus (Chlorophyta, Bryopsidales) in a coastal subtropical lagoon
  7. Taxonomy/phylogeny and biogeography
  8. Updates on Section Pseudo-opuntia of Halimeda: phylogenetic analyses of H. soniae sp. nov. (Bryopsidales, Chlorophyta) along the Brazilian coast
  9. Notes on the benthic marine algae of Puerto Rico. XII: additions to the flora
  10. Molecular and morphological reappraisal of Spyridiocolax capixabus (Spyridiaceae, Rhodophyta), a rare endemic parasite from Brazil
  11. Fourth addendum to the synoptic review of red algal genera
  12. Genomics
  13. Comparison of proteomic profiles of the phaeophyte Saccharina japonica thalli proximal to and beneath the front of epiphytic hydrozoan colonies against healthy tissue
  14. Chemistry and applications
  15. First insight into the phenolic content of Spartina maritima: isolation, characterization and quantification of four C-glycosidic flavonoids
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