Antonio Manghisi

A Re-Assessment of Reproductive Anatomy and Postfertilization Development in the Systematics of Grateloupia (Halymeniales, Rhodophyta)

Abstract The red algal family Halymeniaceae has been recently the subject of taxonomic revisions based strictly on molecular data. As a result, the number of genera ascribed to it has been decreasing and many generic definitions changed profoundly owing to inconsistencies in diacritical vegetative and particularly reproductive characters in standard literature. Reproductive uniformity within this family has been claimed since the late 19th century and is generally supported by recent authors. In this study we report on consistent significant differences in the architecture of carpogonial and auxiliary cell ampullae, as well as in early postfertilization events, among Mediterranean species currently assigned to the genus Grateloupia C. Agardh and provide new interpretations of these features. We recognize several distinct types of ampullae and postfertilization events that distinguish groups of species, these groups proving to be strongly supported by rbcL phylogenies. As a result we conclude that the genus Grateloupia as presently circumscribed should be segregated into multiple genera. In addition to Grateloupia sensu stricto, we resurrect Dermocorynus P.L. Crouan et H.M. Crouan, Pachymeniopsis Y. Yamada ex S. Kawabata, Phyllymenia J. Agardh and Prionitis J. Agardh, all of which have been subsumed in Grateloupia by previous authors. New genera based on our anatomical and rbcL results for G. doryphora (Montagne) M. Howe, G. subpectinata Holmes and G. proteus Kützing will be described in subsequent papers.

Two novel species of Yonagunia (Halymeniales, Rhodophyta) were uncovered in the South of Madagascar during the Atimo-Vatae Expedition

Abstract Yonagunia, a genus of the red algal order Halymeniales, has never been recorded in the Western Indian Ocean. In this study, we used molecular assisted alpha taxonomy to assess the diversity of the marine algal flora of southern Madagascar. A combination of COI-5P and rbcL sequences, used as a DNA-barcode and phylogenetic marker respectively, revealed two species of Yonagunia from the Toliara region in the South of Madagascar. One species, is described a species new to science, Yonagunia atimo-vatae sp. nov. Sequences of the other species, matched of Polyopes ligulata, but it was resolved within the genus Yonagunia rather than Polyopes. Hence, a new combination Yonagunia ligulata comb. nov. is established.

The Mediterranean Endemic New genus Felicinia (Halymeniales, Rhodophyta) Recognized by a Morphological and Phylogenetic Integrative Approach

Abstract Recently, DNA phylogenies resulted in the transfer of some species of the halymeniacean genus Aeodes, namely A. orbitosa and A. ulvoidea, to the genus Pachymenia leaving the former supposedly as a monotypic genus based on the type species, A. nitidissima. Nevertheless, that work overlooked the presence of A. marginata, a red foliaceus alga endemic to the Mediterranean Sea with a convoluted nomenclatural history. In the present study, we provided a thorough description of A. marginata based on both anatomical and molecular data and inferred its phylogenetic relationships among halymeniacean genera using both chloroplastic (rbcL) and nuclear genes (LSU). Based on our data, A. marginata allied with Halymenia, Cryptonemia, and associated genera rather than with the generitype A. nitidissima, and presented a unique set of characters deserving the status of genus within the Halymeniaceae. Therefore, we proposed the new genus Felicinia based on Felicinia marginata comb. nov. A description of the multiaxial vegetative of F. marginata construct was provided, highlighting a unique characteristic among red algae: the presence, in the medulla, of peculiar oblique multicellular filaments connecting periclinal filaments. These filaments are produced secondarily as branches from axial filaments and are possibly homologous to the anticlinal filaments observed in the medulla of Halymenia.

A New Species of Stenogramma was Uncovered Indian Ocean during the Expedition Atimo Vatae: Stenogramma lamyi sp. nov.

Abstract The red algal genus Stenogramma (Gigartinales, Phyllophoraceae) was not recorded in the Indian Ocean. In this study, we used molecular assisted alpha taxonomy to assess the algal diversity of the algal flora of the southern coasts of Madagascar. Using COI-5P sequences as barcode marker and LSU and rbcL sequences to infer phylogenetic relationships, a novel species of Stenogramma has been uncovered at Manantenina, Anosy, Madagascar, which is here described. The species diversity within the genus Stenogramma is discussed and in light of our phylogenetic inference we hypothesized that species of northern and southern hemispheres may have diversified separately. This novel species, being found on subtidal rocks surrounded by sands, the habitat preference of the genus is discussed.

Genetic diversity and haplotype distribution of Pachymeniopsis gargiuli sp. nov. and P. lanceolata (Halymeniales, Rhodophyta) in Korea, with notes on their non-native distributions.

The red alga Pachymeniopsis lanceolata, formerly known as Grateloupia lanceolata, is a component of the native algal flora of northeast Asia and has been introduced to European and North American waters. It has been confused with a cryptic species collected from Korea and Italy. Our analyses of rbcL, cox3 and ITS from P. lanceolata and this cryptic species has revealed two distinct entities, forming a clade, which were clearly separated from its congeners and positioned with other Asian species. Here, we describe the cryptic species as P. gargiuli sp. nov., a species that differs from others by molecular sequence and subtle anatomical characters. We hypothesize that P. gargiuli may have been recently dispersed by anthropogenic vectors, possibly at or near the same time as was P. lanceolata. Our cox3 data set revealed that one haplotype of P. gargiuli, shared between Korea and Italy, and two haplotypes of P. lanceolata, commonly occurring in Korea and USA, are invasive haplotypes. This is the first report of the utility of the mitochondrial coding cox3 sequences in red algae.

Effectiveness of red alga Asparagopsis taxiformis extracts against Leishmania infantum

Abstract Leishmaniasis is a disease with a worldwide distribution affecting both humans and animals. There is a need to identify and develop new drugs for the treatment of leishmaniasis. This study showed that crude ethanolic extracts of the red alga Asparagopsis taxiformis have a powerful effect against L. infantum, the prevalent species of the genus Leishmania in the Mediterranean basin. L. infantum demonstrated decreased vitality with increasing concentration of the algal extracts. At a concentration of 40 μg/mL, the extracts achieved 100% mortality of the parasite and the LD50 value was 25 μg/mL for promastigotes and 9 μg/mL for amastigotes. Algal extracts caused morphological alterations and apoptosis in Leishmania cells. The potential cytotoxic action of crude extracts was investigated by a MTT viability assay on DH82 and Vero cell lines but there was no cytotoxic effect. The potential of red alga A. taxiformis metabolites as anti-leishmanial agents merits further pharmacological investigation.

Mapas de distribución de algas marinas de la Península Ibérica y las Islas Baleares. XXV. Acrodiscus vidovichii y Aeodes marginata (Halymeniales, Rhodophyta)

Se presentan los mapas de distribucion en la Peninsula Iberica y las Islas Baleares de Acrodiscus vidovichii (Meneghini) Zanardini y Aeodes marginata (Roussel) F. Schmitz.

Mapas de distribución de algas marinas de la Península Ibérica e Islas Baleares. XXI. Sebdenia (Sebdeniaceae, Rhodophyta)

Se presentan los mapas de distribucion en la Peninsula Iberica y las Islas Baleares del genero Sebdenia (J. Agardh) Berthold, representado en nuestras costas por dos especies: S. dichotoma Berthold y S. rodrigueziana (Feldmann) Parkinson.

A DNA Barcoding Survey of Ulva (Chlorophyta) in Tunisia and Italy Reveals the Presence of the Overlooked Alien U. ohnoi

Abstract The cosmopolitan genus Ulva Linnaeus includes species of green macroalgae found in marine, brackish and some freshwater environments. Although there is a wide literature for the determination of Ulva taxa in Europe, they are among the most problematic algae to accurately identify, because they have few distinctive features, as well as a high intraspecific variation. At present, the knowledge of both diversity and distribution of the genus Ulva in the Mediterranean Sea is almost entirely based on morphological studies and there is only a few published papers dealing with molecular data. Tunisia has a key position in the Mediterranean and constitutes a transition area with a rich habitat diversity between eastern and western basins. The latest inventory of marine macrophytes dates back to 1987, updated in 1995. The aim of the present paper is to provide a molecular-assisted alpha taxonomy survey of Ulva spp. along Tunisian coasts, in comparison with a few Italian sites, using the tufA marker. Nine genetic species groups were resolved, including the non indigenous species Ulva ohnoi, newly reported for Tunisia. The actual picture of the taxonomy of Ulva spp. in the Mediterranean as a whole is far to be clarified and the present data on Tunisian collections aim to be a step towards its clarification. This paper is the first DNA barcoding study on green macroalgae in Tunisia and it contributes to add records to the Barcode Of Life Data Systems which are publically available.

Genomic features of “Candidatus Venteria ishoeyi”, a new sulfur-oxidizing macrobacterium from the Humboldt Sulfuretum off Chile

The Humboldt Sulfuretum (HS), in the productive Humboldt Eastern Boundary Current Upwelling Ecosystem, extends under the hypoxic waters of the Peru-Chile Undercurrent (ca. 6°S and ca. 36°S). Studies show that primeval sulfuretums held diverse prokaryotic life, and, while rare today, still sustain species-rich giant sulfur-oxidizing bacterial communities. We here present the genomic features of a new bacteria of the HS, “Candidatus Venteria ishoeyi” (“Ca. V. ishoeyi”) in the family Thiotrichaceae.Three identical filaments were micro-manipulated from reduced sediments collected off central Chile; their DNA was extracted, amplified, and sequenced by a Roche 454 GS FLX platform. Using three sequenced libraries and through de novo genome assembly, a draft genome of 5.7 Mbp, 495 scaffolds, and a N50 of 70 kbp, was obtained. The 16S rRNA gene phylogenetic analysis showed that “Ca. V. ishoeyi” is related to non-vacuolate forms presently known as Beggiatoa or Beggiatoa-like forms. The complete set of genes involved in respiratory nitrate-reduction to dinitrogen was identified in “Ca. V. ishoeyi”; including genes likely leading to ammonification. As expected, the sulfur-oxidation pathway reported for other sulfur-oxidizing bacteria were deduced and also, key inorganic and organic carbon acquisition related genes were identified. Unexpectedly, the genome of “Ca. V. ishoeyi” contained numerous CRISPR repeats and an I-F CRISPR-Cas type system gene coding array. Findings further show that, as a member of an eons-old marine ecosystem, “Ca. V. ishoeyi” contains the needed metabolic plasticity for life in an increasingly oxygenated and variable ocean.