Systematics of the Marine Red Algal Family Phyllophoraceae (Gigartinales, Rhodophyta) Based on Morphological and Molecular Evidence

9903900弗雷德里克红藻因其繁衍结构的多样性和复杂的生活史而独树一帜。海洋红藻中的一个家族--泡藻科--尤其表现出广泛的生活史类型，在生命周期的不同二倍体阶段的形态结构中具有相应的多样性，因此提供了一个机会来评估生殖特征相对于该群体分类的系统发育重要性。生活史的类型和生殖结构在植物体内的位置传统上是鉴定该科约11个属和约100个种的基础；然而，从叶绿体rbcL基因的DNA序列推断的初步系统发育分析表明，已建立的类群之间缺乏相关性。这种相关性的缺乏挑战了该组的传统分类学。西南路易斯安那大学的Suzanne Fredericq博士将利用一项对大约100种枫香科(包括一小群蝴蝶科)的全球全面调查，从核和叶绿体基因中产生新的DNA序列数据，并从相同类群的详细比较研究中产生形态数据。分子和形态证据的整合将为整个藻类提供一个系统发育框架，从这个框架中可以重建导致这些藻类多样化的“子实体”的关键发育阶段的序列。确定该科物种之间的进化关系也将有助于研究它们的生物地理分布和迁徙模式。此外，还将出版该属的现代分类学专著，纳入新的分子证据的结果。一个国际同事网络正在帮助为这项研究提供材料，该研究将与博士后助理胡安·洛佩斯-鲍蒂斯塔合作完成

9903900Fredericq Red algae are exceptional for the great diversity in reproductive structures and for their complex life histories. One family of marine red algae, the Phyllophoraceae, in particular exhibits a wide range of life-history types, with corresponding diversity in morphological structures of the various diploid phases of the life cycle, and thus presents an opportunity to assess the phylogenetic importance of reproductive traits relative to the classification of the group. Type of life history and position of the reproductive structures on the plant body have traditionally formed the basis for identifying the 11 or so genera and ca. 100 species in the family; however, preliminary phylogenetic analyses inferred from DNA sequences of the plastid rbcL gene indicate a lack of correlation among the established taxa. This lack of correlation challenges the traditional taxonomy of the group. Dr. Suzanne Fredericq of the University of Southwestern Louisiana will use a comprehensive worldwide survey of the ca. 100 species of Phyllophoraceae (including the small group Petrocelidaceae) to generate new DNA sequence data from nuclear and plastid genes, and morphological data from detailed comparative studies of the same taxa. Integration of the molecular and morphological evidence will provide a phylogenetic framework for the entire group, from which can be reconstructed the sequence of critical developmental stages leading to the diverse "fruiting bodies" of these algae. Determination of the evolutionary relationships among the species of this family will also facilitate the study of their biogeographic distributions and migration patterns. As well, modern taxonomic monographs of the genera will be produced, incorporating the results of the new molecular evidence. An international network of colleagues is helping supply materials for the study, to be completed in collaboration with postdoctoral associate Juan Lopez-Bautista