• ALGAE
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• v.26 no.3
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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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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.287-294
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• 2006

Neosiphonia japonica is a rhodomelacean red alga that occurs in Korea, Japan, China, far-east Russia, northwest America, and New Zealand. Although it is distinguished by a bush-like habit having four pericental cells with cortication and numerous branches on axes, the taxonomy of N. japonica is still problematic. To investigate the taxonomy and phylogeny of the species, we analyzed rbcL and phycoerythrin (cpeA/B) genes from 19 samples of N. japonica and putative relatives. Phylogenetic trees from both genes show that N. japonica from Korea, Japan, New Zealand, and USA is clearly separated from N. decumbens, N. harlandii, and N. flavimarina from the Pacific Ocean. Instead, N. harveyi from the Atlantic Ocean was more related to N. flavimarina than to N. japonica. This result supports morphological and distributional differences between N. japonica and N. harveyi. However, the close relationship between these species suggests that they might have a recent most common ancestor. This is the second report to use the cpeA/B gene for evaluating species diversity in the Rhodophytes.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.20 no.10
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• pp.25.1-25.5
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• 2017

An economic marine alga, which is considered to be an important source of carrageenan, was collected from Jindo of the southern coast of Korea. This species shares the vegetative and female reproductive features of Ahnfeltiopsis and is characterized mostly by its small size (up to 8 cm), terete to subterete thalli at the lower portion, cartilaginous in texture, dichotomous branches, rarely produced proliferations, and an absence of hypha-like filaments in the medulla. It is distinguished from other Korean species within the genus by the thallus feature. In a phylogenetic tree based on the molecular data, this alga nests in the same clade with A. concinna from Japan but forms a sister clade to A. concinna from Mexico and Hawaii (type locality). However, the genetic distance among those sequences was calculated as 0.1-1.3% for rbcL and 1.1% for COI sequences, considered to be intraspecific variation within the genus. Based on the morphology and molecular analysis, this alga is identified as A. concinna originally described from Hawaii. This is the first record of the species in the Korean marine algal flora.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.21 no.11
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• pp.31.1-31.7
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• 2018

Three economic marine algae that have been used as food and carrageenan sources were collected from Korea during a survey of marine algal flora. They share the generic features of Hypnea, and three major clades supported by the sectional features were confirmed in a phylogenetic tree based on rbcL sequences. The first species, which belongs to a species group corresponding to the sect. Spinuligerae, nests in the same clade with Hypnea yamadae in a genetic distance of 0%. It is morphologically characterized by an entangled base, subcompressed or subterete to terete axes, somewhat percurrent main axis, irregularly alternately branching with wide angle, and rarely hooked spinous branchlets. The second one is also referred to the sect. Spinuligerae and formed the same clade as Hypnea cenomyce. The genetic distance between both sequences was calculated as 0.0-0.1%, which is considered to be intraspecific. This species is distinct by somewhat entangled thallus at the basal part, percurrent axis, short spine-like branchlets densely covering the axis, and medullary lenticular thickenings. The third alga, which forms a species group corresponding to the sect. Pulvinatae, nests in the same clade as Hypnea nidulans (no intraspecific divergence). It shows occasionally epiphytic habitat rather than epilithic habitat of low mat-forming growth and percurrent erect main axes with dense lateral branchlets. Based on these morphological and molecular data, the three Korean species are identified as H. yamadae, H. cenomyce, and H. nidulans. This is the first record of the Hypnea species in Korea.

• ALGAE
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.135-147
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• 2022

The red algal genus Chondrus have long been used as raw materials for carrageenan and dietary fiber in health foods. Despite the importance of genetic information in safeguarding natural seaweed resources, knowledge of the population genetics of Chondrus in the northwest Pacific is limited. In this study, genetic diversity and phylogeographic structure of 45 populations (777 specimens) of Chondrus from Korea, China, and Japan were evaluated based on mitochondrial COI-5P gene sequences, and phylogenetic relationships were confirmed based on plastid rbcL gene sequences. Molecular analyses assigned the specimens in this study to three Chondrus species: C. nipponicus, C. ocellatus, and C. giganteus; phenotype-based species classification was impossible owing to their high morphological plasticity. We found moderate intraspecific genetic diversity and a shallow phylogeographic structure in both for C. nipponicus and C. ocellatus, and low intraspecific genetic diversity in C. giganteus. Each of the three species exhibited high-level intraspecific gene flow among regions based on the most common haplotypes (CN1 for C. nipponicus, CO1 for C. ocellatus, and CG1 for C. giganteus). Our comprehensive genetic information provides insights into the phylogeographic patterns and intraspecific diversity of the economically important Chondrus species. It also highlights the need to conserve existing natural Chondrus resources through continuous monitoring of genetic diversity and phylogeographic pattern.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.37-51
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• 2018

Molecular phylogenetic analysis was conducted to evaluate the taxonomic relationships of genus Arisaema L. distributed in Korea and the molecular phylogenetic characteristics of three authentic Arisaema species for the herbal medicine Arisaematis Rhizoma (the rhizomes of A. amurense, A. heterophyllum, and A. erubescens). The sequences of three DNA barcodes (rDNA-ITS, matK, and rbcL) were analyzed using 50 samples of nine taxa consisted of eight Korean and one Chinese Arisaema with one outgroup (Dracunculus vulgaris). Both individual and combined phylogenetic analyses of three DNA barcode sequences revealed that the treated nine taxa are independently classified into six distinct clades (Clade I, A. amurense f. amurense and A. amurense f. serratum; Clade II, A. serratum and A. takesimense; Clade III, A. ringens; Clade IV, A. erubescens; Clade V, A. heterophyllum; Clade VI, A. thunbergii subsp. thunbergii and A. thunbergii subsp. geomundoense). These six clades were reasonably divided into three individual sections, Pedatisecta, Sinarisaema, and Tortuosa. Futhermore, the results of comparative DNA barcode sequences analyses provided a significant information for the taxonomic reconsideration of Arisaema L. at the specific and intraspecific level. However, we could not confirm the taxonomic characteristics or identity among the three authentic medicinal species through the molecular phylogenetic analyses of genus Arisaema L. for Arisaematis Rhizoma.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.387-393
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• 2014

We propose Cryptonemia asiatica sp. nov. from Korea and Japan. We used molecular analyses of plastid-encoded rbcL and morphological observations to resolve the taxonomic identities of C. lactuca from Korea, C. luxurians from Japan, and C. seminervis from Spain. Specimens of C. lactuca and C. luxurians fell within the same molecular phylogenetic clade (with 100% bootstrap support) and were clearly separated from specimens of C. luxurians collected from the type locality in Brazil. Our analyses demonstrated identical molecular sequences between C. seminervis specimens from Spain and C. lomation specimens from France. Morphological characteristics of the new species, C. asiatica include prominent midribs through the mid thallus, a cortex 4-6 cells thick, and a blade with undulate margins. Molecular evidence indicates that specimens from Korea and Japan previously assigned to C. lactuca and C. luxurians, respectively, should be reassigned to Cryptonemia asiatica. Binomial C. luxurians from Brazil should be resurrected as the independent species of Cryptonemia.

• ALGAE
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.221-227
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• 2011

There are three carpet-like Codium species with a broadly expanded thallus reported from Korea and Japan: C. latum Suringar, C. tapetum Y. Lee, and C. tenuifolium Shimada, Tadano and J. Tanaka. During surveys of green algal diversity, we encountered a Codium species with carpet-like thalli from several sites on Jeju Island. To confirm the taxonomic identity of these specimens, we studied the morphological features and obtained rbcL gene sequences. The morphological and sequence data indicated that the carpet-like Codium specimens from Jeju are C. tenuifolium from Japan, but distant from Japanese C. latum. We propose that the carpet-like specimens from Jeju should be renamed C. tenuifolium, instead of C. tapetum or C. latum. C. tenuifolium is characterized by a tenuous, carpet-like and erect thallus with a very short and slightly compressed stipe arising from a discal holdfast, sub-pyriform and clavate utricles with a tumid and swollen apical head, and globular or sub-globular gametangia issued at the basal portion of the utricles.

• Journal of Fisheries and Marine Sciences Education
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.952-957
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• 2017

In the course of survey of marine algal flora in Korea, a red algal species was collected from Pohang located in the eastern coast of Korea. This shares features of Hypnea, and is characterized by more or less percurrent axis and numerous and short branchlets densely covering axis and branches with basal constrictions, and absence of lenticular thickenings in medullary cell walls. In a phylogenetic tree based on rbcL sequences, this species nests in the same clade as Hypnea esperi. Genetic distance between this Korean entity and H. esperi was in intraspecific range as 0.6%. This alga is identified as Hypnea esperi based on the morphological and molecular data. This is the first record of H. esperi in Korea.

• ALGAE
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.33-40
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• 2011

Porphyroglossum is the last one of nine genera within the family Gelidiaceae that has yet to be analyzed by molecular markers. We analyzed rbcL and cox1 genes from P. zollingeri specimens collected near the type locality in Indonesia and compared them with other gelidioid algae. Thalli are cartilaginous, complanate, and up to 15 cm high. Abundant rhizoidal filaments are concentrated in the medullary layer. Tetrasporangial sori are on small, determinate ramuli. In all gene analyses, P. zollingeri consistently nested within Gelidium. The sister relationship of P. zollingeri to G. floridanum was well resolved. Because Gelidium has priority over Porphyroglossum, a new combination is proposed, viz. Gelidium zollingeri. Network analysis of the four cox1 haplotypes revealed many missing haplotypes, indicating high genetic diversity in the species.