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SohrabipourJ., LimP.-E., MaggsC.A. andPhangS.-M. 2013. Two new species and two new records of Pterocladiella(Gelidiales) from Malaysia based on analyses of rbcL and coxI gene sequences. Phycologia52: 517–537. DOI: 10.2216/12-123.1Five species of Pterocladiella(Gelidiales) are reported from Malaysia, identified using a combination of morphological data and partial rbcL (chloroplast) and coxI (mitochondrial) gene sequences. Two new species, Pterocladiella phangiaesp. nov. and Pterocladiella megasporangiasp. nov., are proposed based on phylogenetic analyses and distinct morphological features. Pterocladiella phangiaesp. nov. showed a sister relationship with P. caerulescens, P. beachiae, P. psammophilaand P. australafricanensis. Pterocladiella megasporangiasp. nov. formed a monophyletic clade with P. bartlettiiand P. melanoideawith strong support in all analyses. Two other species are reported as new records for Malaysia and Southeast Asia. Pterocladiellabeachiae grouped robustly with P. beachiaefrom the Caribbean Sea; P. bartlettiiwas resolved in a clade among sequences of P. bartlettiifrom the Caribbean Sea and Texas, USA. The identity of P. caerulescens, which had previously been reported from Malaysia based on morphological features, was verified by rbcL and coxI gene analyses as well as morphological studies. This study provides 22 new rbcL gene sequences and 18 new coxI sequences for the genus Pterocladiella, documents detailed morphological data for the relevant specimens and increases the number of Pterocladiellaspecies known in Malaysia from two to six, including two new species.

K. Kostamo, J. Blomster, H. Korpelainen, J. Kelly, C.A. Maggs andF. Mineur. 2008. New microsatellite markers for Ulva intestinalis(Chlorophyta) and the transferability of markers across species of Ulvaceae. Phycologia47: 580–587. DOI: 10.2216/08-16.1Macroalgal blooms are a growing environmental problem in eutrophicated coastal ecosystems. Members of the green algal genus Ulvaare significant contributors to blooms, which are typically dominated by only one of several co-occurring opportunistic species. Our understanding of bloom dynamics, such as the importance of clonality, is limited because previously used genetic markers such as internal transcribed spacer sequences have shown very little resolution. Microsatellites are the marker of choice for such studies, but to date, only five primer pairs have been developed for a single member of this genus, Ulva intestinalis. We have now developed four new microsatellite markers for U. intestinalisusing genome screening and restriction–ligation and tested them on individuals from six populations in the Gulf of Finland, Finland. All new markers exhibited polymorphism in U. intestinalis, with the numbers of alleles ranging from 6 to 10. On the basis of assignment tests, FSTestimates and analysis of molecular variance, there was genetic differentiation among populations. Where significantly different, expected heterozygosity (HE) was higher than observed heterozygosity (HO), indicating a trend toward heterozygote deficiency. This may indicate that although Ulvaspores can disperse relatively efficiently, asexual reproduction can result in genetic differentiation among populations. We also tested the cross-species amplification of our primers and the five primer pairs reported previously on seven species of Ulva, Ulvaria obscuraand Umbraulva olivascens(all members of the Ulvaceae). In each species, from five to nine of the loci produced an amplification product, and one to four alleles were discovered at each locus. These markers therefore have great potential for testing hypotheses about the formation and maintenance of multispecies macroalgal blooms.