PHYLOGENETIC-RELATIONSHIPS OF SOME EUROPEAN GELIDIUM (GELIDIALES, RHODOPHYTA) SPECIES, BASED ON RBCL NUCLEOTIDE-SEQUENCE ANALYSIS

In the absence of reliable taxonomic characters, species relationships in Gelidium (Gelidiales, Rhodophyta) are poorly understood. In order to produce an independent data set for developing phylogenetic hypothe ses and consequently a more natural classification of the genus, the m ethods and primers for sequencing rbcL were developed and used in a st udy of 37 Gelidium species and populations. Sequence data from 24 Euro pean and 13 non-European taxa were obtained and analyzed using parsimo ny methods. All European taxa were resolved in a single major clade ex cept for Gelidium pusillum (Stackhouse) Le Jolis, which formed a separ ate clade within the non-European species. Populations initially ident ified as G. latifolium (Greville) Bornet et Thuret from Aramar, Spain and G. pulchellum (Turner) Kutzing from Mallorca, Spain were found to be respectively G. attenuatum (Turner) Bornet in Thuret and what may r epresent an endemic Mediterranean species. European G. pusillum was di stinct from taxa representing G. crinale (Turner) Lamouroux or G. pulc hellum and all taxa assigned this name from other geographic regions.