Identification of Gracilariaceae (Rhodophyta) of central Portugal by histological and genetic methods

Marta V. Freitas; Marco Simões; Christian Valdez; Clélia Afonso; Beatriz G. Trindade; Ana Correia; Teresa Baptista; Teresa Mouga

doi:10.1515/bot-2021-0017

Article

Identification of Gracilariaceae (Rhodophyta) of central Portugal by histological and genetic methods

Marta V. Freitas

Marta V. Freitas is a PhD student of University of Coimbra, and develops her work at MARE – Marine and Environmental Sciences Center in both Polytechnic of Leiria and University of Coimbra. She holds a degree in Marine Biology and Fisheries, a MSc degree in Conservation Biology and a MSc degree in Marine Resources Biotechnology. Her research and interests focus on seaweed biotechnology and seaweed culture. She published five scientific papers and participated in several international scientific conferences.
, Marco Simões

Marco Simões is a PhD student of Porto University and MARE-Polytechnic of Leiria. He has a MSc degree in Biotechnology of Marine Resources and a BSc in Marine Biology and Biotechnology. He has developed work on diverse molecular areas, genetic and metabolic pathways of plants, pathogen detection in fish samples, microorganism and algae species identification, metagenomic analysis and microsatellite markers. He has also helped to direct some students and participated on the publication of seven posters and five scientific papers.
, Christian Valdez , Clélia Afonso
Clélia Afonso has a PhD in Agronomic Engineering (Plant Biotechnology), and is a post doc in Cellular and Microbial Physiology. She is a member of MARE – Center for Marine and Environmental Sciences and Adjunct Professor of the School of Tourism and Technology of the Sea from the Polytechnic of Leiria. She has participated in several research projects a published several papers. Research interests: Applied Biotechnology, namely by the use of seaweeds, microalgae and plants and detection of their bioactivities and nutritional properties.
, Beatriz G. Trindade , Ana Correia , Teresa Baptista

Teresa Baptista is a professor in the School of Tourism and Maritime Technology in Aquaculture. She has a Master’s degree from Bangor University School of Ocean Sciences and is a specialist in aquaculture. She is responsible for the Aquaculture Lab of the MARE Leiria Polytechnic and has worked on the study of the biology of species with a focus on bivalve molluscs. She has also developed research work in pathology in aquaculture with the development of pathology diagnosis techniques as well as the study of host-pathogen interaction, with time course assays. She was the coordinator of Seaweedfeeds, the project that supported this paper.
and Teresa Mouga

Teresa Mouga is a senior professor in the School of Tourism and Maritime Technology (ESTM), Polytechnic of Leiria, since 2000, chair of the Scientific Committee of ESTM, since November 2019 and a researcher at MARE- Marine and Environmental Sciences Center. Her main domain of specialization are the growth and cultivation of seaweeds, seaweed bioactivities and surveys of littoral seaweeds to study the ecology of invasive and native species. She has published 17 scientific papers, three books, two book chapters, besides other written scientific contributions, and participated/managed more than 20 research projects.

Published/Copyright: December 8, 2021

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From the journal Botanica Marina Volume 65 Issue 1

Abstract

This study aims to identify different populations of Gracilariaceae collected from the central coast of Portugal through light microscopy, anatomical observations and genetic tools, essential approaches to correctly assign species identity. Samples were obtained from Ria de Aveiro (AV), Figueira da Foz (FFBC, FFMD), and Lagoa de Óbidos (LOBR, LOEV, LOBS). Although histological observations offered a visual representation of the characteristic pseudoparenchymatous organization, they did not allow a clear distinction among the species. The amplification of a ∼700 bp fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I gene, and its sequencing enabled us to assign the populations FFBC and LOBS to Gracilaria gracilis, and the populations AV, FFMD, LOBR, and LOEV to Agarophyton vermiculophyllum. This contribution will help phycologists to correctly identify the Portuguese populations of Gracilaria sensu lato at the species level, which will be crucial in ensuring that future studies and industrial exploration accurately target the correct species.

Keywords: genetic analysis; Gracilaria sp.; gracilarioids; seaweed histology; species identification

Corresponding author: Teresa Mouga, MARE – Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, ESTM, Politécnico de Leiria, Edifício CETEMARES, Av. Porto de Pesca, 2520-641 Peniche, Portugal, E-mail: mougat@ipleiria.pt

Marta V. Freitas and Marco Simões contributed equally to this work.

Funding source: Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT)

Award Identifier / Grant number: UIDB/04292/2020 Granted to MARE

Funding source: Operational Programme MAR2020

Award Identifier / Grant number: 16-02-01-FMP-84 – SeaWeedFeeds

Funding source: Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT)

Award Identifier / Grant number: Individual Doctoral Grant Attributed to Marta V. F

About the authors

Marta V. Freitas

Marta V. Freitas is a PhD student of University of Coimbra, and develops her work at MARE – Marine and Environmental Sciences Center in both Polytechnic of Leiria and University of Coimbra. She holds a degree in Marine Biology and Fisheries, a MSc degree in Conservation Biology and a MSc degree in Marine Resources Biotechnology. Her research and interests focus on seaweed biotechnology and seaweed culture. She published five scientific papers and participated in several international scientific conferences.

Marco Simões

Marco Simões is a PhD student of Porto University and MARE-Polytechnic of Leiria. He has a MSc degree in Biotechnology of Marine Resources and a BSc in Marine Biology and Biotechnology. He has developed work on diverse molecular areas, genetic and metabolic pathways of plants, pathogen detection in fish samples, microorganism and algae species identification, metagenomic analysis and microsatellite markers. He has also helped to direct some students and participated on the publication of seven posters and five scientific papers.

Clélia Afonso

Clélia Afonso has a PhD in Agronomic Engineering (Plant Biotechnology), and is a post doc in Cellular and Microbial Physiology. She is a member of MARE – Center for Marine and Environmental Sciences and Adjunct Professor of the School of Tourism and Technology of the Sea from the Polytechnic of Leiria. She has participated in several research projects a published several papers. Research interests: Applied Biotechnology, namely by the use of seaweeds, microalgae and plants and detection of their bioactivities and nutritional properties.

Teresa Baptista

Teresa Baptista is a professor in the School of Tourism and Maritime Technology in Aquaculture. She has a Master’s degree from Bangor University School of Ocean Sciences and is a specialist in aquaculture. She is responsible for the Aquaculture Lab of the MARE Leiria Polytechnic and has worked on the study of the biology of species with a focus on bivalve molluscs. She has also developed research work in pathology in aquaculture with the development of pathology diagnosis techniques as well as the study of host-pathogen interaction, with time course assays. She was the coordinator of Seaweedfeeds, the project that supported this paper.

Teresa Mouga

Teresa Mouga is a senior professor in the School of Tourism and Maritime Technology (ESTM), Polytechnic of Leiria, since 2000, chair of the Scientific Committee of ESTM, since November 2019 and a researcher at MARE- Marine and Environmental Sciences Center. Her main domain of specialization are the growth and cultivation of seaweeds, seaweed bioactivities and surveys of littoral seaweeds to study the ecology of invasive and native species. She has published 17 scientific papers, three books, two book chapters, besides other written scientific contributions, and participated/managed more than 20 research projects.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Andreia Raposo for assisting in histological preparations, João Duarte for the image data photography. Credits are also due to Professor Paula Cardoso and Luke Devonald for reviewing the English language. Macroscopic and microscopic images are reproduced with the permission of Marta V. Freitas and João Duarte, respectively.

Author contributions: Conceptualization, Teresa Mouga. and Marta V. Freitas; methodology: Marta V. Freitas, Marco Simões, Christian Valdez, Beatriz G. Trindade, Ana Correia; validation, Marta V. Freitas, Marco Simões, Clélia Afonso, Teresa Baptista, Teresa Mouga; formal analysis, Teresa Mouga. Marco Simões, and Marta V. Freitas; resources, Teresa Baptista; writing –original draft preparation, Marta V. Freitas, Marco Simões; writing –review and editing, all authors; supervision, Clélia Afonso, Teresa Baptista, Teresa Mouga.; funding acquisition, Teresa Baptista. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Research funding: This research was funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), through the strategic project UIDB/04292/2020 granted to MARE, and the project Operational Programme MAR2020 through the project 16-02-01-FMP-84 – SeaWeedFeeds. Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) also supported this research through the individual doctoral grant UI/BD/150957/2021 attributed to Marta V. Freitas.
Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding this article.

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Received: 2021-02-24

Accepted: 2021-09-17

Published Online: 2021-12-08

Published in Print: 2022-02-23

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https://doi.org/10.1515/bot-2021-0017

Keywords for this article

genetic analysis; Gracilaria sp.; gracilarioids; seaweed histology; species identification