• ALGAE
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• 제25권1호
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• pp.1-9
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• 2010

Although Pterocladiella is a well-known agar-producing red algal genus, its taxonomy in Korea appears to be confused. In the present study, we demonstrate the occurrence of Pterocladiella nana and P. tenuis, as well as P. capillacea in Korea on the basis of morphological and plastid rbcL sequence comparisons. P. capillacea commonly occurs along the coasts of Korea and has regular pinnate branches with abundant second-order branches, growing up to 10 cm in length. P. nana occurs in the intertidal zone of Jeju and is distinguished by the small size of its thalli (up to 5 cm) and regular branches with up to third-order branches. P. tenuis is distributed mostly subtidally on the southern coast of Jeju and has irregular branches with rarely second-order branches, growing up to 19 cm in length. We determined rbcL sequences from 19 specimens (15 from Korea and four from France) and downloaded 28 sequences from GenBank. Analyses of all 47 rbcL sequences revealed that each of three species was consistently resolved. P. capillacea and P. tenuis always formed a sister clade with P. nana at the base. Given that 12 rbcL haplotypes from 28 specimens of P. capillacea have been found to date, analysis of a fast-evolving gene from across the range of the species should highlight its genetic diversity.

• Journal of Species Research
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• 제11권4호
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• pp.266-277
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• 2022

The current surveys of Ulva in the subtidal area around Jeju Island give a chance to discover unrecorded green algal species of the Korean macroalgal flora. As a result of this investigation, we found Ulva adhaerens Matusmoto & Shimada, inhabiting the subtidal regions, up to 15 m deep, and conducted the DNA barcoding on plastid rbcL-3P and tufA regions with describing the morphological characteristics. Our specimens of U. adhaerens forms a monophyletic clade with the Japanese type specimen and U. piritoka Ngāti Kuri, Heesch & W.A. Nelson from New Zealand exhibiting each 0.3% sequence divergences, respectively, in the plastid rbcL-3P. The genetic variation of U. adhaerens clade is 1.0-3.9% in rbcL-3P and 4.8-9.8% in tufA to each Ulva species, including the generic type, U. lactuca Linneaus. The morphology of Korean U. adhaerens specimens is identical to the type specimens of U. adhaerens from Japan having the development of rhizoidal filaments from both of the cell layers of the distromatic blade and the extension of rhizoidal clumps with adhesive trait between blades by extended rhizoidal clumps at the basal blades. The thallus attachment to substrate is by numerous minute discoidal plates made up of rhizoids originating from the inner part of distromatic blades in basal. Although there are still some problems to resolve the relationship between U. adhaerens and U. piritoka in the rbcL dataset and the phylogenetic pattern of the Group II intron of rbcL, we propose the new record of U. adhaerens in Korean macroalgal flora based on the morphological characteristics of Korean specimens. Continued study of the genus Ulva by morphological and molecular assessment will delimit the species of Ulva, elucidate the relationships between them, and uncover the species diversity.

• 환경생물
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• 제38권1호
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• pp.160-164
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• 2020

Papenfussiella densa was described as Papenfussiella kuromo f. densa from Japan by Inagaki in 1958. P. densa has been recognized as an endemic and independent species based on the molecular analyses of type material without detailed morphological observations. In this study, Papenfussiella densa is reported as a new record from Dok-do, South Korea, based on morphological and molecular analyses. Papenfussiella densa is mainly characterized as having narrow, branched, slimy, and tomentose thalli with branchlets, partially hollow in the medulla of the middle part. The molecular analyses of the chloroplast rbcL-rbcS DNA sequence of the Papenfussiella densa sample from Korea revealed that it matched that of P. densa from Japan and was nested in the clade of Papenfussiella. There was only a 0.02% gene sequence divergence between the Korean and Japanese samples. We report P. densa as a new record from Korea and add this species to the list of Korean macroalgal flora.

• ALGAE
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• 제26권3호
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• pp.211-219
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• 2011

The genus Haraldiophyllum comprises seven species worldwide. Six of these are endemics with limited distributions, whereas the type species H. bonnemaisonii has been reported from the Atlantic Ocean. In Korea, H. bonnemaisonii has been previously recorded from the southern coast. During a red algal collection at Udo, Jeju Island, Korea, we found a potentially undescribed Haraldiophyllum species and analyzed its morphology and rbcL sequences. Herein we describe a new species, H. udoensis sp. nov., and compare our Udo specimen to similar congeners. This new species is characterized by one or several elliptical blades on a short cylindrical stipe with fibrous roots, blades that are monostromatic except at the base and on reproductive structures, a lack of network and microscopic veins, entire margins, lack of proliferations, growth through many marginal initials, and two distinct tetrasporangia layers. A phylogenetic rbcL sequence analysis demonstrated H. udoensis was distinct from the United Kingdom's H. bonnemaisonii, as well as from other species. Morphological and sequence data indicated a previous misidentification of H. udoensis as the type species H. bonnemaisonii. Based on maximum likelihood analysis, Myriogramme formed a sister clade with H. udoensis, with relatively low bootstrap support.

• ALGAE
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• 제29권4호
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• pp.267-277
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• 2014

Green tides occur every year in the Yellow Sea (YS), and numerous investigations are proceeding on various aspects of the phenomenon. We have identified bloom-forming species collected from diverse locations in the YS using morphological traits and the chloroplast gene for the large subunit of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase (rbcL). Morphological and rbcL sequence data analyses characterized the blooming species on both sides of the YS as belonging to the Ulva linza-procera-prolifera (LPP) complex clade or U. prolifera of earlier reports. However, U. procera within the LPP complex must be regarded as synonym of U. linza. Moreover, U. prolifera in free-floating samples collected from the Qingdao coast in 2009 was clearly in a distinct clade from that of the blooming species. Therefore, U. linza is the main green tide alga in the YS and has the procera-morphology. The green drift mats in the southeastern part of the YS (southwest sea of Korea) consisted predominantly of U. linza and rarely of U. compressa or U. prolifera.

• ALGAE
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• 제33권3호
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• pp.231-241
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• 2018

Genetic continuity of Digenea simplex outside the Atlantic waters remains less studied, despite its long exposure to oriental folk medicine and wide distribution in tropical waters. Mitochondrial COI-5P and plastid rbcL sequences and morphology were investigated for plants from Mexico and additional specimens from Japan. Two new species, Digenea mexicana and Digenea rafaelii, are described for plants that would previously have been recognized as D. simplex in Mexico. D. mexicana grows to 10.5 cm tall and has cylindrical axes, irregular or di-, trichotomous branches, simple to branched determinate branchlets with eight pericentral cells, and tetrasporangia on inflated upper parts of determinate branchlets. It occurs intertidally in Quintana Roo, Yucatan Peninsula. D. rafaelii grows to 5 cm tall and has cylindrical axes, irregular or di-, trichotomous branches, and simple determinate branchlets with ten pericentral cells. It occurs intertidally in the Gulf of California. Both COI-5P and rbcL sequences revealed the genetic discontinuity between D. mexicana and D. rafaelii.

• ALGAE
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• 제38권1호
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• pp.23-38
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• 2023

Accurately identifying species is the basis of all biological studies. There has been much confusion in the identification of Grateloupiacean species, which have finely pinnate gross morphology similar to Grateloupia filicina (the type species of the family). The objective of this study was to comprehensively investigate species identification and distribution of G. filicina-like species in the Northwest Pacific, based on the rbcL sequences. A total of 118 specimens from 78 sites in Korea and Japan were collected from 2001 to 2021 and analyzed for their rbcL sequences. Additional 341 sequences downloaded from the GenBank were included in our comprehensive dataset. Based on these sequences, we documented the nomenclatural history and geographical distribution of the species, and commented on the application of species name. G. asiatica was the most abundant G. filicina-like species in the Northwest Pacific, and its high degree of morphological variation caused many misidentifications. In particular, G. dalianensis, G. serra, and G. variata require reconsideration of their conspecificity with G. asiatica using more specimens from China. By contrast, G. oligoclora was presumed to be a heterotypic synonym of G. subpectinata. The occurrence of G. acuminata, G. ramosissima, and G. livida in Korea resulted from misidentifications with other species.

• ALGAE
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• 제35권1호
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• pp.33-43
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• 2020

Two species of the agar-yielding genus Gelidium, G. galapagense and G. isabelae, have previously been reported from Korea but their occurrence has not been confirmed with molecular data. We intensively collected samples of Gelidium from Jeju Island, where the two species were reported, and the southern coast of Korea. Phylogenetic analyses based on cox1 and rbcL sequences revealed that only a single species occurred in Korea. The Korean species was distantly related to G. galapagense and G. isabelae from the Galápagos Islands, and formed a clade with G. microdonticum, G. millarianum, and G. pakistanicum. A new species, G. palmatum, is described for those specimens that were previously recognized as either G. galapagense or G. isabelae from Korea. G. palmatum is small in size (up to 0.7 cm), with compressed, lanceolate axes, irregular, digitate to palmate branches, abundant rhizines in the medulla, tetrasporangial sori without sterile margins, and rounded bilocular cystocarps borne subapically on palmate branchlets.

• ALGAE
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• 제34권3호
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• pp.187-198
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• 2019

The exploration of seaweed diversity in poorly studied habitats has often led to the discovery of new species. Sand-covered rocks are an example, as they received less attention than sand-free rocky intertidal habitats during seaweed diversity surveys in Brazil. In sand-covered rocks from Espirito Santo and Rio de Janeiro we found an alga whose morphology was unique among rhodomelacean species previously reported in Brazil. With the aim to clarify the taxonomic identity of this species we studied its morphology, as well as its phylogenetic relationships. Molecular analyses resolved this species in the genus Alsidium (tribe Alsidieae) and differed from sequenced congeners with divergences ${\geq}2.5$ and 4.2% in the rbcL and cox1 genes, respectively. Morphological characters were in agreement with the genus Alsidium, and differed from other species currently recognized in the genus. The species consisted of a basal crust and scarcely branched erect axes with seven pericentral cells covered by a continuous layer of cortical cells. Reproductive structures were formed on clusters of short determinate branches. Therefore, the new species A. oliveiranum is proposed based on morphological and molecular evidence. Our findings contribute to better understand the diversity of the tribe Alsidieae, which is particularly diverse in the Americas.

• ALGAE
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• 제37권1호
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• pp.15-32
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• 2022

Inspecting herbaria collections of Laurencia rigida highlighted frequent misidentifications between L. rigida and L. heteroclada f. decussata, two poorly studied taxa from Australia. Recent collections of DNA material, including from topotype material, allowed for re-examination of these two taxa using molecular techniques. Detailed morphological and molecular analyses based on two markers (rbcL and COI-5P) strongly supported these two taxa as being distinct from each other and requiring nomenclatural changes. Comprehensive morphological analyses highlighted features useful for accurate identifications. Interestingly, L. rigida was found to belong to the genus Palisada with evidence from both the morphology and molecular data. Therefore, this study proposed recognizing L. rigida as Palisada rigida comb. nov. Molecular data for L. heteroclada f. decussata on the other hand supported its separation from L. heteroclada, with too great a molecular distance to be considered a variety. Morphological characters that best separated P. rigida from L. decussata included seven characters; number of pericentral cells per vegetative axial segment, the presence of secondary pit connections, the presence of lenticular thickenings, tetrasporangia alignment, the presence of corps en cerise, holdfast morphology, and overall plant shape. Morphologically, L. heteroclada f. decussata was also separated from L. heteroclada, particularly by the following characteristics; ultimate branchlets morphologies, lower order branch lengths, primary axis and holdfast morphologies. Therefore, it was proposed that L. heteroclada f. decussata is recognized at a species level as L. decussata comb. et stat. nov.