Using rbcL sequence data to reassess the taxonomic position of some Grateloupia and Dermocorynus species (Halymeniaceae, Rhodophyta) from the north-eastern Atlantic

Abstract

Grateloupia is one of the most taxonomically complex genera of the Cryptonemiales. Of four species reported to occur in Ireland and Britain, only G. filicina (J.V. Lamouroux) C. Agardh and G. dichotoma J. Agardh are considered as native, with Grateloupia filicina var. luxurians A. Gepp & E.S. Gepp and G. doryphora (Montagne) Howe thought to be recent introductions. Sequence data from the plastid-encoded rbcL gene have been used to assist in clarifying the taxonomic position of these and other members of the Halymeniaceae from Ireland, Britain and neighbouring coasts. Molecular and morphological evidence indicate that the introduced alga G. filicina var. luxurians is only distantly related to the type species, G. filicina. It is here raised to species status as G. luxurians (A. Gepp & E.S. Gepp) R.J. Wilkes, L.M. McIvor & Guiry, stat. nov. A further species, Grateloupia minima P.L. Crouan & H.M. Crouan, has also been reported in the north-eastern Atlantic, but is currently considered as a seasonal or juvenile form of G. filicina. Based on morphological evidence and sequence data, G. minima is distinct from G. filicina, and is hereby reinstated. Although rarely reported, the closely related taxon, Dermocorynus montagnei P. L. Crouan & H. M. Crouan was also included in this study. Molecular and morphological data place Dermocorynus in a clade of Grateloupia species and we therefore propose that Dermocorynus be placed in synonymy with Grateloupia. The relationship between morphology and phylogeny within Grateloupia is discussed in the light of these results.

Keywords:

• Cryptonemiales
• Dermocorynus montagnei
• Dermocorynus
• Grateloupia luxurians
• Grateloupia minima
• Grateloupia
• molecular taxonomy
• phylogeny
• rbcL

Acknowledgements

We thank Drs Robert Fletcher, Maurizio Gargiulo and Marina Morabito for providing samples, and Drs Gerald T. Kraft and Erwan Ar Gall for assistance in field collections. This research was supported by the Irish Higher Education Authority's Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions, Cycle 2, to the Environmental Change Institute, NUI, Galway.