Unveiling hidden diversity in the Synura petersenii species complex (Synurophyceae, Heterokontophyta)
Abstract
In this study we used the ITS region for a molecular analysis of several clonal cultures of S. petersenii. Analyses of these data divide the strains among six distinct clades.
Identifi cation of compensatory base changes (CBCs) and hemi-CBCs characterizing each of the six clades unequivocally confi rmed the results of our ITS analysis and implied the high probability of reproduction barriers among the clades. Furthermore, morphological analyses including both traditional methods and geometric morphometrics revealed unambiguous differences in scale structure among the six clades.
All of these fi ndings allow us to consider S. petersenii a complex of species. The results also indicate that the real hidden diversity of S. petersenii is very probably much higher.