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JPR Advance Access published online on February 9, 2008
Journal of Plankton Research, doi:10.1093/plankt/fbn023
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© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

MOLECULAR SYSTEMATICS OF THE PLEUROCHRYSIDACEAE, A FAMILY OF COASTAL COCCOLITHOPHORES (HAPTOPHYTA)

Alberto G. Sáez1,2,3, Alejandro Zaldivar-Riverón1 and Linda K. Medlin2

1 Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), Dept. Biodiversidad y Biología Evolutiva, C/ José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid, Spain 2 Alfred Wegener Institute für Polar und Meeresforschung, Dept. of Biological Oceanography, Am. Handelshafen 12, D-27570 Bremerhaven, Germany

3 Author for correspondence: asaez{at}mncn.csic.es

Received on December 7, 2007; revised on January 26, 2008; accepted on February 2, 2008


  Abstract

Within the marine phytoplankton community, coccolithophores are important players in the carbon cycle, because of their great abundance and unusual ability to form an external cover of calcium carbonate. Most described species are oceanic, and so little attention has been devoted to coastal species, the majority of which belong to two families: Pleurochrysidaceae and Hymenomonadaceae. Here, we study the biodiversity and evolutionary relationships within the Pleurochrysidaceae, for which we have compiled DNA sequences from a total of 18 strains plus three members of the Hymenomonadaceae. Most of the analysed sequences have been obtained for this study and belong to three genetic fragments: 18S rDNA, elongation factor Tu (tufA), and internal transcribed spacers 1 and 2, which include the 5.8S rDNA. We find some discordance between the current taxonomy of the group and our molecular analyses. First, we observe that several different recognised species are in fact highly similar taxa, probably belonging to the same evolutionary lineages. Secondly, we show some unexpected phylogenetic relationships. In the light of these results, we suggest that, when possible, DNA sequences be considered in future taxonomic classifications of the Pleurochrysidaceae and other planktonic organisms.

Key Words: coccolithophore • Pleurochrysis • plankton diversity • microalgae • DNA phylogeny

Corresponding Editor: Dr Roger Harris


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