Two new species and two new records of Pterocladiella (Gelidiales) from Malaysia based on analyses of rbcL and coxI gene sequences

Abstract

Sohrabipour J., Lim P.-E., Maggs C.A. and Phang S.-M. 2013. Two new species and two new records of Pterocladiella (Gelidiales) from Malaysia based on analyses of rbcL and coxI gene sequences. Phycologia 52: 517–537. DOI: 10.2216/12-123.1Five species of Pterocladiella (Gelidiales) are reported from Malaysia, identified using a combination of morphological data and partial rbcL (chloroplast) and coxI (mitochondrial) gene sequences. Two new species, Pterocladiella phangiae sp. nov. and Pterocladiella megasporangia sp. nov., are proposed based on phylogenetic analyses and distinct morphological features. Pterocladiella phangiae sp. nov. showed a sister relationship with P. caerulescens, P. beachiae, P. psammophila and P. australafricanensis. Pterocladiella megasporangia sp. nov. formed a monophyletic clade with P. bartlettii and P. melanoidea with strong support in all analyses. Two other species are reported as new records for Malaysia and Southeast Asia. Pterocladiella beachiae grouped robustly with P. beachiae from the Caribbean Sea; P. bartlettii was resolved in a clade among sequences of P. bartlettii from the Caribbean Sea and Texas, USA. The identity of P. caerulescens, which had previously been reported from Malaysia based on morphological features, was verified by rbcL and coxI gene analyses as well as morphological studies. This study provides 22 new rbcL gene sequences and 18 new coxI sequences for the genus Pterocladiella, documents detailed morphological data for the relevant specimens and increases the number of Pterocladiella species known in Malaysia from two to six, including two new species.