Phylogenetic analysis of pseudochlorodesmis strains reveals cryptic diversity above the family level in the siphonous green algae (bryopsidales, chlorophyta)

Abstract

The genus Pseudochlorodesmis (Bryopsidales) is composed of diminutive siphons of extreme morphological simplicity. The discovery of Pseudochlorodesmis-like juveniles in more complex Bryopsidales (e.g., the Halimeda microthallus stage) jeopardized the recognition of this genus. Confronted with this uncertainty, taxonomists transferred many simple siphons into a new genus, Siphonogramen. In this study, we used a multimarker approach to clarify the phylogenetic and taxonomic affinities of the Pseudochlorodesmis- Siphonogramen (PS) complex within the more morphologically complex bryopsidalean taxa. Our analyses reveal a new layer of diversity largely distinct from the lineages containing the str..