Abstract
Pyrolysis mass spectrometry (PyMS) has been tested on five freeze-dried cultures of ectocarpoid algae and on live tissue from three field populations of Fucus species. The technique enabled discrimination of Baltic and Irish Sea isolates of Pilayella littoralis. The results were in agreement with the view that P. littoralis and Hincksia ovata may be considered members of a single family (Ectocarpaceae) and support the location of Elachista fucicola in the Elachistaceae. Microspongium globosum was least similar to the other isolates and, on present evidence, should be located in another higher taxon (Myrionemataceae?). Baltic F. vesiculosus could be distinguished from conspecific plants from the Irish Sea, but the technique failed to separate clearly Irish Sea F. serratus and F. vesiculosus. This anomalous result is considered a probable consequence of introgression occurring at a shore level where the two species coexist. It is concluded that PyMS has considerable potential in the study of brown algal systematics.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bäck S, Collins JC, Russell G (1992a) Effects of salinity on growth of Baltic and Atlantic Fucus vesiculosus. Br phycol J 27: 39–47
Bäck S, Collins JC, Russell G (1992b) Comparative ecophysiology of Baltic and Atlantic Fucus vesiculosus. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 84: 71–82
Bird CJ, Helleur RJ, Hayes ER, McLachlan J (1987) Analytical pyrolysis as a taxonomic tool in Gracilaria (Rhodophyta: Gigartinales). Hydrobiologia 151/152: 207–211
Bolwell GP, Callow JA, Callow ME, Evans LV (1977) Cross-fertilisation in fucoid seaweeds. Nature, Lond 268: 625–627
Bot PVM, Brussaard CPD, Stam WT, van den Hoek C (1991) Evolutionary relationships between four species of Cladophora (Cladophorales, Chlorophyta) based on DNA-DNA hybridization. J Phycol 27: 617–623
Burrows EM, Lodge S (1951) Autecology and the species problem in Fucus. J mar biol Ass UK 30: 161–176
Christensen T (1980) Algae: a taxonomic survey. Fasc. 1. AiO Print Ltd, Odense
Christensen T (1994) Algae: a taxonomic survey. Fasc. 2. AiO Print Ltd, Odense
Fletcher RL (1987) Seaweeds of the British Isles. Vol. 3 Fucophyceae (Phaeophyceae). Part 1. British Museum (Natural History), London
Garbary D, Mortimer M (1978) Use and analysis of pyrolysis-gas-liquid chromatography in algal taxonomy. Phycologia 17: 105–107
Goodacre R (1994) Characterization and quantification of microbial systems using pyrolysis mass spectrometry: introducing neural networks to analytical pyrolysis. Microbiology Eur 2: 16–22
Nichols HW, Anderson DJ, Shaw JI, Sommerfeld MR (1968) Pyrolysis-gas-liquid chromatographic analysis of chlorophycean and rhodophycean algae. J Phycol 4: 362–368
Pankow H (1990) Ostsee-Algenflora. Gustav Fischer Verlag, Jena
Reiner E (1965) Identification of bacterial strains by pyrolysis-gas-liquid chromatography. Nature, Lond 206: 1272–1274
Rice EL, Crowden RK (1987) An improved method for the extraction and electrophoresis of proteins and active enzymes from fucalean macroalgae (Phaeophyta). Phycologia 26: 235–246
Russell G (1994) A Baltic variant of Pilayella littoralis (Algae, Fucophyceae). Anns bot fenn 31: 127–138
Russell G, Garbary D (1978) Generic circumscription in the family Ectocarpaceae (Phaeophyceae). J mar biol Ass UK 58: 517–525
Russell G, Pedersen PM (1994) Microspongium globosum (Algae: Fucophyceae) an addition to the marine flora of Finland. Anns bot fenn 31: 143–146
Scott GW, Hardy FG (1994) Observations of the occurrence of hybrids between two sympatric species of fucoid algae. The Phycologist (Newsl Br phycol Soc) 37: 1–48
Silva PC (1987) Nomenclatural notes. Smithson Contr mar Sci 27: 127–131
Sprung DC, Wujek DE (1971) Chemotaxonomic studies of Pleurastrum Chodat by means of pyrolysis-gas-liquid chromatography. Phycologia 10: 251–254
Stosch HA von (1964) Wirkung von Jod und Arsenit auf Meeresalgen in Kultur. Proc 4th int Seaweed Symp 142–150 [de Virville D, Feldmann J (eds) Pergamon Press, oxford]
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by J. Mauchline, Oban
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Russell, G. Pyrolysis mass spectrometry: a fresh approach to old problems in brown algal systematics?. Marine Biology 123, 153–157 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00350334
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00350334