Investigation of a freshwater acrochaetioid alga (Rhodophyta) from molecular and morphological data
2 January 2014
Chen, Le; Feng, Jia; Han, Xiaojing; Xie, ShulianAn acrochaetioid alga was collected from Niangziguan spring in Shanxi Province, northern of China. To ascertain its phylogenetic status, trees of Bayesian inference (BI), maximum parsimony (MP) and maximum likelihood (ML) were reconstructed using partial sequences of the plastid-encoded gene (rbcL) and the nuclear-encoded gene (SSU rDNA). Morphological data indicated that this acrochaetioid alga reproduces exclusively asexually by monosporangia. In addition, morphological characteristics indicate that it can be identifed as of Audouinella heterospora. However, phylogenetic reconstructions showed that the acrochaetioid alga was not placed in a clade with the genus Audouinella, but in a clade with Thorea hispida (Thoreales). Based on the molecular phylogenetic analysis, A. heterospora represents the “chantransia” phase of T. hispida.