Radiation of the red algal parasite Congracilaria babae onto a secondary host species, Hydropuntia sp. (Gracilariaceae, Rhodophyta)

Congracilaria babae was first reported as a red alga parasitic on the thallus of Gracilaria salicornia based on Japanese materials. It was circumscribed to have deep spermatangial cavities, coloration similar to its host and the absence of rhizoids. We observed a parasitic red alga with morphologica...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2014-05, Vol.9 (5), p.e97450-e97450
Main Authors: Ng, Poh-Kheng, Lim, Phaik-Eem, Phang, Siew-Moi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algae
Bioinformatics
Biology and Life Sciences
Ceramiales
Coloration
Deoxyribonucleic acid
DNA
Earth science
Genetic markers
Genetic Variation
Genomes
Gracilaria - parasitology
Gracilaria salicornia
Gracilariaceae
Host-Parasite Interactions
Hydropuntia
Markers
Medicine and Health Sciences
Mitochondria
Morphology
New combinations
Nucleotide sequence
Parasites
Phylogenetics
Phylogeny
Radiation
RbcL gene
Rhizoids
Rhodophyta
Rhodophyta - anatomy & histology
Rhodophyta - classification
Rhodophyta - genetics
Rhodophyta - physiology
Sequence Analysis, DNA
Studies
Taxonomy
Thallus
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Congracilaria babae was first reported as a red alga parasitic on the thallus of Gracilaria salicornia based on Japanese materials. It was circumscribed to have deep spermatangial cavities, coloration similar to its host and the absence of rhizoids. We observed a parasitic red alga with morphological and anatomical features suggestive of C. babae on a Hydropuntia species collected from Sabah, East Malaysia. We addressed the taxonomic affinities of the parasite growing on Hydropuntia sp. based on the DNA sequence of molecular markers from the nuclear, mitochondrial and plastid genomes (nuclear ITS region, mitochondrial cox1 gene and plastid rbcL gene). Phylogenetic analyses based on all genetic markers also implied the monophyly of the parasite from Hydropuntia sp. and C. babae, suggesting their conspecificity. The parasite from Hydropuntia sp. has a DNA signature characteristic to C. babae in having plastid rbcL gene sequence identical to G. salicornia. C. babae is likely to have evolved directly from G. salicornia and subsequently radiated onto a secondary host Hydropuntia sp. We also recommend the transfer of C. babae to the genus Gracilaria and propose a new combination, G. babae, based on the anatomical observations and molecular data.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0097450