A New Species from the Canary Islands Increases the Diversity of the Red Algal Genus <i>Pterocladiella</i> in the Northeastern Atlantic
Environmental and human factors are inducing a drastic decline in many marine algae in regions with a high floristic richness as in the Canary Islands. Simultaneously, undescribed algal species continue to be discovered, suggesting a probable loss in diversity, before being properly identified and c...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Plants |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/12/2/416 |
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| author | Nereida M. Rancel-Rodríguez Julio Afonso-Carrillo Ana Tronholm Marta Sansón |
| author_facet | Nereida M. Rancel-Rodríguez Julio Afonso-Carrillo Ana Tronholm Marta Sansón |
| author_sort | Nereida M. Rancel-Rodríguez |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Environmental and human factors are inducing a drastic decline in many marine algae in regions with a high floristic richness as in the Canary Islands. Simultaneously, undescribed algal species continue to be discovered, suggesting a probable loss in diversity, before being properly identified and catalogued. Turf-forming Gelidiales occur in marine littoral communities from tropical to warm temperate regions and are challenging to identify correctly because of their small size and simple morphology. In the present study, we combined morphological and molecular phylogenetics methods to study a turf-forming species of the genus <i>Pterocladiella</i> from the Canary Islands (NE Atlantic). Both <i>cox</i>1 and <i>rbc</i>L gene analyses revealed a novel species described here, <i>Pterocladiella canariensis</i> sp. nov. The new species has no single unique morphological feature, but it is different by a distinctive combination of attributes, namely, minute size less than 18 mm in height, ribbon-like erect axes, small polygonal cortical cells, cystocarp circular in outline with placental tissue attached to the floor, spermatangial sori with sterile margins with spermatangia simultaneously formed on both sides of the blade, and tetrasporangia arranged in V-shaped rows. Phylogenies inferred from <i>cox</i>1 and concatenated genes (<i>cox</i>1 + <i>rbc</i>L) suggest a link to only two <i>Pterocladiella</i> species endemic to South Africa and Madagascar; nevertheless, the <i>rbc</i>L gene establishes <i>P. canariensis</i> as the earliest divergent lineage of the genus. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T11:24:24Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-71bbceba1a4349c6b1cbba3e03d64e16 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2223-7747 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T11:24:24Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Plants |
| spelling | doaj.art-71bbceba1a4349c6b1cbba3e03d64e162023-12-01T00:06:36ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472023-01-0112241610.3390/plants12020416A New Species from the Canary Islands Increases the Diversity of the Red Algal Genus <i>Pterocladiella</i> in the Northeastern AtlanticNereida M. Rancel-Rodríguez0Julio Afonso-Carrillo1Ana Tronholm2Marta Sansón3Departamento de Botánica, Ecología y Fisiología Vegetal, Facultad de Ciencias, Sección Biología, Universidad de La Laguna, Avenida Astrofísico Francisco Sánchez, 38206 La Laguna, SpainDepartamento de Botánica, Ecología y Fisiología Vegetal, Facultad de Ciencias, Sección Biología, Universidad de La Laguna, Avenida Astrofísico Francisco Sánchez, 38206 La Laguna, SpainDepartamento de Botánica, Ecología y Fisiología Vegetal, Facultad de Ciencias, Sección Biología, Universidad de La Laguna, Avenida Astrofísico Francisco Sánchez, 38206 La Laguna, SpainDepartamento de Botánica, Ecología y Fisiología Vegetal, Facultad de Ciencias, Sección Biología, Universidad de La Laguna, Avenida Astrofísico Francisco Sánchez, 38206 La Laguna, SpainEnvironmental and human factors are inducing a drastic decline in many marine algae in regions with a high floristic richness as in the Canary Islands. Simultaneously, undescribed algal species continue to be discovered, suggesting a probable loss in diversity, before being properly identified and catalogued. Turf-forming Gelidiales occur in marine littoral communities from tropical to warm temperate regions and are challenging to identify correctly because of their small size and simple morphology. In the present study, we combined morphological and molecular phylogenetics methods to study a turf-forming species of the genus <i>Pterocladiella</i> from the Canary Islands (NE Atlantic). Both <i>cox</i>1 and <i>rbc</i>L gene analyses revealed a novel species described here, <i>Pterocladiella canariensis</i> sp. nov. The new species has no single unique morphological feature, but it is different by a distinctive combination of attributes, namely, minute size less than 18 mm in height, ribbon-like erect axes, small polygonal cortical cells, cystocarp circular in outline with placental tissue attached to the floor, spermatangial sori with sterile margins with spermatangia simultaneously formed on both sides of the blade, and tetrasporangia arranged in V-shaped rows. Phylogenies inferred from <i>cox</i>1 and concatenated genes (<i>cox</i>1 + <i>rbc</i>L) suggest a link to only two <i>Pterocladiella</i> species endemic to South Africa and Madagascar; nevertheless, the <i>rbc</i>L gene establishes <i>P. canariensis</i> as the earliest divergent lineage of the genus.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/12/2/416<i>cox</i>1GelidialesmorphologyPterocladiaceae<i>Pterocladiella canariensis</i><i>rbc</i>L |
| spellingShingle | Nereida M. Rancel-Rodríguez Julio Afonso-Carrillo Ana Tronholm Marta Sansón A New Species from the Canary Islands Increases the Diversity of the Red Algal Genus <i>Pterocladiella</i> in the Northeastern Atlantic Plants <i>cox</i>1 Gelidiales morphology Pterocladiaceae <i>Pterocladiella canariensis</i> <i>rbc</i>L |
| title | A New Species from the Canary Islands Increases the Diversity of the Red Algal Genus <i>Pterocladiella</i> in the Northeastern Atlantic |
| title_full | A New Species from the Canary Islands Increases the Diversity of the Red Algal Genus <i>Pterocladiella</i> in the Northeastern Atlantic |
| title_fullStr | A New Species from the Canary Islands Increases the Diversity of the Red Algal Genus <i>Pterocladiella</i> in the Northeastern Atlantic |
| title_full_unstemmed | A New Species from the Canary Islands Increases the Diversity of the Red Algal Genus <i>Pterocladiella</i> in the Northeastern Atlantic |
| title_short | A New Species from the Canary Islands Increases the Diversity of the Red Algal Genus <i>Pterocladiella</i> in the Northeastern Atlantic |
| title_sort | new species from the canary islands increases the diversity of the red algal genus i pterocladiella i in the northeastern atlantic |
| topic | <i>cox</i>1 Gelidiales morphology Pterocladiaceae <i>Pterocladiella canariensis</i> <i>rbc</i>L |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/12/2/416 |
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