Erythrolobus australicus sp. nov. (Porphyridiophyceae, Rhodophyta): a description based on several approaches

doi:2011.26.2.167

Algae > Volume 26(2); 2011 > Article

Algae 2011;26(2): 167-180. doi: https://doi.org/10.4490/algae.2011.26.2.167

Eun Chan Yang¹, Joe Scott², John A. West³^,*, Hwan Su Yoon¹^,4, Akiko Yokoyama⁵, Ulf Karsten⁶, Susan Loiseaux de Goër⁷ and Evguenia Orlova²

¹Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, P.O. Box 475, 180 McKown Point Road, West Boothbay Harbor, ME 04575, USA
²Department of Biology, College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA 23187, USA
³School of Botany, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia
⁴Department of Biological Science, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 440-746, Korea
⁵Structural Biosciences, Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki Pref. 305-8572, Japan
⁶Institute of Biological Sciences - Applied Ecology, University of Rostock, Albert-Einstein-Strasse 3, D-18057 Rostock, Germany
⁷11 Rue des Moguerou, 29680 Roscoff, France

*Corresponding Author

Email: jwest@unimelb.edu.au

ABSTRACT

The unicellular marine red alga Erythrolobus australicus sp. nov. (Porphyridiophyceae) was isolated into laboratory culture from mangroves in Queensland and New South Wales, Australia. The single multi-lobed red to rose-red plastid has more than one pyrenoid and lacks a peripheral thylakoid. Arrays of small electron dense globules occur along the thylakoids. The nucleus is peripheral with a central to eccentric nucleolus. Each Golgi body is associated with a mitochondrion. The spherical cells are positively phototactic with slow gliding movement. The psaA + psbA phylogeny clearly showed that E. australicus is a distinct species, which is closely related to E. coxiae. The chemotaxonomically relevant and most abundant low molecular weight carbohydrate in E. australicus is floridoside with concentrations between 209 and 231 μmol g-1 dry weight. Traces of digeneaside were also detected. These various approaches help to understand the taxonomic diversity of unicellular red algae.

Key words: Australia; digeneaside; Erythrolobus; floridoside; molecular phylogeny; Porphyridiophyceae; ultrastructure; unicells