Molecular characterisation and development of rapid molecular methods to identify species of Gracilariaceae from the Atlantic coast of Morocco

In Gracilariaceae, species identification is traditionally based on gross morphology; therefore the taxonomic status of terete individuals remains frequently problematic due to the lack of diagnostic characters to identify specimens. Different morphospecies have been recorded along the Atlantic coast of Morocco; however, no clear diagnostic characters were available to discriminate between terete species. Rapid molecular techniques have been developed recently to resolve many taxonomic problems and to re-assess the global diversity and biogeography in algae. In this study, molecular markers were used as DNA barcoding to characterise species. The sequence of the Rubisco spacer allowed identification of six species of Gracilariaceae: Gracilaria gracilis, Gracilaria dura, Gracilaria conferta, Gracilaria vermiculophylla, Gracilaria multipartita and Gracilariopsis longissima. In order to identify species with certainty, two simple and rapid methods based on the amplification of rDNA ITS and PCR-RFLP of the large subunit of the Rubisco were developed.