TITLE:
Gracilariopsis lemaneiformis (Gracilariaceae, Rhodophyta) in the Mexican Coasts: A Case of Disjunct Distribution?
AUTHORS:
Oscar E. Hernandez, Kurt M. Dreckmann, María Luisa Nuñez-Resendiz, Martha Isabel Vilchis, Abel Sentíes
KEYWORDS:
COI-5P, Cosmopolitan, Morphological Variation, rbcL, Species Delimitation
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.11 No.2,
January
31,
2020
ABSTRACT:
Gracilariopsis lemaneiformis is a widely reported species of marine red algae, with records from
around the world. Particularly in Mexico, it has been recorded along the coasts
of the Gulf of Mexico and the Mexican Caribbean as well as the Tropical Mexican
Pacific; so, its current distribution on the Mexican coasts is disjunct. From
its molecular characterization with COI-5P and rbcL sequences of specimens collected at sites in Mexico where this
species has been most frequently recorded, our aim was to re-evaluate the
current distribution of Gp. lemaneiformis on the Mexican coasts and
discuss the taxonomic implications. Phylogenetic analysis, supported by DNA
species delimitation methods, genetic distances and morphological comparisons,
showed that the current disjunct distribution of Gp. lemaniformis in
Mexico is a consequence of taxonomic misidentifications. From our results, Gp.
lemaneiformis is the only species of the genus with a distribution in the
Tropical Mexican Pacific, whereas Gp. tenuifrons is the only species
with a distribution in the Gulf of Mexico and the Mexican Caribbean. Also, we
propose that Gp. cata-luziana is to be merged with Gp. tenuifrons,
while Gp. costarisensis is to be merged with Gp. lemaneiformis.