THE NEW RECORD OF Grateloupia doryphora (Halymeniaceae, Rhodophyta) ALGA IN THE EGYPTIAN MEDITERRANEAN SEA RECOGNIZED BY MORPHOLOGICAL AND MOLECULAR INTEGRATIVE APPROACH

Given problems of species delimitation in algae, using morphology or sexual compatibility, molecular data are becoming the standard for delimiting algal species and testing traditional species boundaries. The idea that species are separately evolving metapopulation lineages along with theoretical progress in phylogenetic and population genetic analyses, has led to the development of new methods of species delimitation. The aim of the current study is to determine precisely the newly introduced Grateloupia doryphora algal species, which is recorded in the Egyptian Mediterranean Sea for the first time in the present study, and has been previously identified as another species in many Mediterranean countries by mistake. To confirm the introduction of this alga as well as its precise taxonomical identification, morphological and molecular techniques were used along with the study of its ecological conditions. Phylogenetic analysis of the 18S DNA gene assumed that the alga may be introduced in the current study area from Peru or Chile; while, the specific rbcL gene analysis confirmed that the tested alga belonged to G. doryphora. Conclusively, G. doryphora is a non native species that was most properly originated from Peru and Chile and may be introduced in the Egyptian Mediterranean coast as spores in the ballast water, which germinates in the new area under the favorable conditions.