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Molecular and morphological reappraisal of Spyridiocolax capixabus (Spyridiaceae, Rhodophyta), a rare endemic parasite from Brazil

  • Daniella Harumi Chen

    Daniella Harumi Chen graduated in Biological Sciences at the Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie. She has worked as a technician at the Laboratory of Marine Phycology, Institute of Botany, São Paulo. She has experience in the area of Molecular Biology with emphasis on taxonomy and DNA barcoding of marine macroalgae. She received her Master’s degree in Plant Biodiversity and Environment with studies on the holotypes of Ceramiales (Rhodophyta) from Brazil housed at SP and SPF herbaria.

         , Luanda Pereira Soares

    Luanda Pereira Soares is a postdoctoral researcher at the Nucleus for Research in Phycology, Institute of Botany, São Paulo, Brazil. She received her PhD in Plant Biodiversity and Environment in 2015 at the same institution, and since then, she has been developing studies related to floristic surveys of Rhodophyta, using classical taxonomy and molecular tools. At present, her research includes taxonomy and molecular phylogeny of marine macroalgae, focusing on reassessment of type specimens, endemic and rare marine algae occurring along the Brazilian coast.

     ORCID logo     and Mutue Toyota Fujii

    Mutue Toyota Fujii is a Scientific Researcher at the Nucleus for Research in Phycology, Institute of Botany, São Paulo, Brazil. She received her Master and PhD degrees in Plant Biology from the São Paulo State University for her studies on morphological, chemical and cytogenetical approaches on Laurencia s.l. (Rhodophyta) from Brazil. Currently, she is a coordinator of the Postgraduate Program in Plant Biodiversity and Environment (PPG-IBt) and her area of activity is taxonomy, phylogeny, phylogeography and biogeography of marine macroalgae.

     ORCID logo EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: June 12, 2019
Botanica Marina
From the journal Botanica Marina Volume 62 Issue 4

Abstract

The monotypic red algal parasite genus Spyridiocolax was proposed from material from the coast of Espírito Santo to accommodate Spyridiocolax capixabus, endemic from Brazil. The species is rare, and we performed a morphological reappraisal and the first molecular characterization of S. capixabus. Parasite specimens growing on Spyridia clavata were collected in the type locality, Itaoca Beach, Espírito Santo. Spyridiocolax capixabus forms colorless warts on the branches of S. clavata, and the secondary pit connections were described for the first time. Male, female and tetrasporophytic structures were observed growing in the same host plant. The plastid rbcL sequences of parasite and host were identical. A divergence of one nucleotide was found to the nuclear SSU rRNA gene, suggesting that the parasite retains the chloroplast of its host. Both plastidial and nuclear phylogenies supported the close relationship of S. capixabus and S. clavata. The data obtained corroborate other studies with rhodophycean parasites, which show morphological and molecular similarities between parasites and hosts. To maintain the monophyly of the host genus, the transfer of S. capixabus to Spyridia is proposed here on the basis of morphological and molecular evidence. Our study constitutes a starting point for reinvestigating the red algal parasites in Brazil.

Keywords: biodiversity; parasitic red algae; phylogeny; rbcL; SSU rRNA

About the authors

Daniella Harumi Chen

Daniella Harumi Chen graduated in Biological Sciences at the Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie. She has worked as a technician at the Laboratory of Marine Phycology, Institute of Botany, São Paulo. She has experience in the area of Molecular Biology with emphasis on taxonomy and DNA barcoding of marine macroalgae. She received her Master’s degree in Plant Biodiversity and Environment with studies on the holotypes of Ceramiales (Rhodophyta) from Brazil housed at SP and SPF herbaria.

Luanda Pereira Soares

Luanda Pereira Soares is a postdoctoral researcher at the Nucleus for Research in Phycology, Institute of Botany, São Paulo, Brazil. She received her PhD in Plant Biodiversity and Environment in 2015 at the same institution, and since then, she has been developing studies related to floristic surveys of Rhodophyta, using classical taxonomy and molecular tools. At present, her research includes taxonomy and molecular phylogeny of marine macroalgae, focusing on reassessment of type specimens, endemic and rare marine algae occurring along the Brazilian coast.

Mutue Toyota Fujii

Mutue Toyota Fujii is a Scientific Researcher at the Nucleus for Research in Phycology, Institute of Botany, São Paulo, Brazil. She received her Master and PhD degrees in Plant Biology from the São Paulo State University for her studies on morphological, chemical and cytogenetical approaches on Laurencia s.l. (Rhodophyta) from Brazil. Currently, she is a coordinator of the Postgraduate Program in Plant Biodiversity and Environment (PPG-IBt) and her area of activity is taxonomy, phylogeny, phylogeography and biogeography of marine macroalgae.

Acknowledgments

This work was partially supported by research grants from the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo – FAPESP (2016/50370-7, Funder Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001807) and from the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq 440523/2015-0, Funder Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100003593). DHC thanks the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES, Brazil) for the MSc fellowship (CAPES/AUXPE-CIMAR 1991/2014). “This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior Brasil (CAPES) Finance Code 001”. MTF thanks CNPq for the Productivity fellowship (304899/2017-8). The authors are grateful to the reviewers for their comments and suggestions.

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Supplementary Material

The online version of this article offers supplementary material (https://doi.org/10.1515/bot-2018-0089).

Received: 2018-09-30
Accepted: 2019-04-30
Published Online: 2019-06-12
Published in Print: 2019-08-27

© 2019 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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  2. In this issue
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https://doi.org/10.1515/bot-2018-0089
Keywords for this article
biodiversity; parasitic red algae; phylogeny; rbcL; SSU rRNA

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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