Contributors: LIttoral ENvironnement et Sociétés (LIENSs); Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS); Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB); Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE); Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université des Antilles (UA); Laboratoire des Sciences de l'Environnement Marin (LEMAR) (LEMAR); Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer (IUEM); Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS); CNRS, La Rochelle Université, Parc naturel régional du Marais poitevin (contract 180166-04/04/2018), DEVOTES (DEVelopment Of innovative Tools for understanding marine biodiversity and assessing good Environmental Status, FP7, grant no. 308392), ECONAT (Contrat de Plan Etat-Région, CNRS and the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER); LIttoral ENvironnement et Sociétés - UMRi 7266 (LIENSs); Université de La Rochelle (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS); Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB ); Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-École pratique des hautes études (EPHE); Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université des Antilles (UA); Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS); Sauriau, Pierre-Guy; La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Abstract: Foliose species of the genus Ulva are notoriously difficult to identify due to their variable morphological characteristics and high phenotypic plasticity. We reassessed the taxonomic status of several distromatic foliose Ulva spp., morphologically related to Ulva rigida, using DNA barcoding with the chloroplastic tufA and rbcL (for a subset of taxa) genes for 339 selected attached Ulva specimens collected from three intertidal rocky sites. Two of the collection sites were in Brittany and one site was in Vendée, along the Atlantic coast of France. Molecular analyses included several museum specimens and the holotype of Ulva armoricana Dion, Reviers & Coat. We identified five different tufA haplotypes using a combination of phylogenetic analysis, with the support of several recently sequenced holotypes and lectotypes, and a species delimitation method based on hierarchical clustering. Four haplotypes were supported by validly named species: Ulva australis Areschoug, Ulva fenestrata Postels & Ruprecht, Ulva lacinulata (Kützing) Wittrock and U. rigida C. Agardh. The later was additionally investigated using rbcL. The fifth haplotype represented exact sequence matches to an unnamed species from European Atlantic coasts. Our results support: (1) the synonymy of both U. rigida sensu Bliding non C. Agardh and U. armoricana with U. lacinulata. This finding is based on current genetic analysis of tufA from the U. armoricana holotype and recent molecular characterization of the lectotype of U. laetevirens, which is synonymous to U. australis, (2) the presence of U. australis as a misidentified introduced species in Brittany, and (3) the presence of U. fenestrata and U. rigida in southern Brittany. The taxonomic history of each species is discussed, highlighting issues within distromatic foliose taxa of the genus Ulva and the need to genetically characterize all its available type specimens.
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