Multigene phylogenetics of Sargassum (Phaeophyceae) revealed low molecular diversity in contrast to high morphological variability in the NE Atlantic Ocean

Abstract

Sargassum species play a key role in habitat formation in tropical and subtropical regions; however, species identification has been hampered by the phenological plasticity exhibited in response to environmental conditions and life history. Molecular phylogenetics has challenged taxa circumscriptions and proven critical in delimiting species in this genus. Yet, the Atlantic species of Sargassum remain poorly understood, and recent studies have shown low molecular diversity between the species in the NW Atlantic. Here, we expand the taxon sampling to the NE Atlantic to assess the diversity of Sargassum in the Atlantic basin, based on a comprehensive morphological and multigene approach. We selected genes commonly used in delineating species in this genus (ITS2, rbcLS, cox3, mtsp) and explored additional markers (cox2, nad6, psbC, clpC, atpB) to infer the phylogenetic relationships between the morphospecies observed in the NE Atlantic. Phylogenetic analyses using single‐gene and multigene alignments including 185 new sequences confirmed the low molecular diversity and supported the distinction of a single clade in Sargassum section Sargassum of N Atlantic benthic species. In contrast, morphological analysis resulted in the identification of 10 species and three new morphospecies that we described here but opt not to equate to species until further molecular evidence is available. Our results were congruent with previous findings from the NW Atlantic and highlight the morphological and ecological diversity of Sargassum in the Atlantic. These results suggest a recent colonization and incipient speciation of Sargassum in the Atlantic basin and showcase the need of further high‐throughput analyses.