Molecular analyses and reproductive structure to verify the generic relationships of Hypnea and Calliblepharis (Cystocloniaceae, Gigartinales), with proposal of C. saidana comb. nov.

The genera Hypnea and Calliblepharis of the family Cystocloniaceae are discriminated by their female reproductive structure, especially in the formation of carposporangia and gonimoblasts. Hypnea saidana, once classified based on obsolete evidence, has not been studied phylogenetically using molecular analysis and detailed reproductive structure though it shares many morphologic features with the genus Calliblepharis. To provide better understanding of generic relationship of H. saidana with Hypnea and Calliblepharis, we carried out molecular analyses using the nuclear-encoded small subunit ribosomal DNA (SSU) and chloroplast-encoded large subunit of the RuBisCO (rbcL), and exact morphological observations focusing on the reproductive structures of wild specimens. Our molecular phylogeny showed that H. saidana is closely related to Calliblepharis, but distinct from the clade of Hypnea. Female reproductive structure of H. saidana characterized by upwardly developing chains of carposporangia, central reticulum of cell, and gonimoblast filaments not connected to the pericarp provides definite evidence to assign the taxonomic position of this species to Calliblepharis. Based on our combined molecular and morphological analyses, we have proposed Calliblepharis saidana comb. nov., expanding the distribution of Calliblepharis habitat from the eastern Atlantic South Africa, the northern Indian Ocean, Australasia, and Brazil to the western Pacific Ocean.