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Evidence of reproductive cost in the triphasic life history of the red alga Gracilaria chilensis (Gracilariales, Rhodophyta)

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Abstract

The extent of changes in basic physiological and demographic traits associated with reproduction was investigated in the highly cultivated haploid–diploid red alga, Gracilaria chilensis. Sixty individuals bearing vegetative and reproductive fronds collected in the natural population of Niebla (39°52′ S, 73°23′ W), in Chile, were cultivated under controlled culture conditions. Our results demonstrated that vegetative fronds have a higher survival rate and a better growth rate than reproductive ones irrespective of the type of individual analyzed (male gametophyte, female gametophyte, and tetrasporophyte). Moreover, the reproductive fronds clearly showed a decrease in photosynthetic activity compared to non-reproductive ones. In males and tetrasporophytes, the photosynthetic reduction in reproductive individuals could be explained by a physical effect of reproductive structure development as well as spores release, disrupting the continuity of the photosynthetic cortical tissues. Translocation of photoassimilates from nearby vegetative tissue or the previous accumulation of photosynthetic products seems to be a prerequisite for reproductive structure development in this species. Altogether, these results document for the first time in G. chilensis that reproduction has a strong physiological effect on male, female, and tetrasporophyte fronds. This trade-off between reproduction, growth, and survival suggest the existence of reproductive costs in the life history of G. chilensis.

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Acknowledgments

We thank P. Antileo and K. Contreras for their technical assistance in algae maintenance; I. Gómez, M. Orostegui, and C. Rosas (Inst. De Ciencias Marinas y Limnológicas, Universidad Austral de Chile) for providing their expertise and facilities for pigment analyses; and S. Woelfl (Inst. De Ciencias Marinas y Limnológicas, Universidad Austral de Chile) for facilitating us access to the oxymeter. JDGE acknowledges support provided by a CONICYT Doctoral fellowship. MLG was supported by FONDECYT grant no. 1090360.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Ciencias Ambientales y Evolutivas – Laboratorio de recursos aquaticos de Calfuco, Universidad Austral de Chile, Facultad de Ciencias, Casilla 567, Valdivia, Chile

    Marie Laure Guillemin, Paula Valenzuela & Juan Diego Gaitán-Espitia

  2. Laboratorio Costero Calfuco, Instituto de Biología Marina “Jürgen Winter” Universidad Austral de Chile, Casilla 567, Valdivia, Chile

    Marie Laure Guillemin, Paula Valenzuela & Juan Diego Gaitán-Espitia

  3. UPMC, UMR 7144, Adaptation & Diversité en Milieu Marin, Equipe “BEDIM”, Station Biologique, Place Georges Teissier, 29682, Roscoff Cedex, France

    Christophe Destombe

  4. CNRS, UMR 7144, Adaptation & Diversité en Milieu Marin, Equipe “BEDIM”, Station Biologique, Place Georges Teissier, 29682, Roscoff Cedex, France

    Christophe Destombe

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  1. Marie Laure Guillemin
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  2. Paula Valenzuela
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  4. Christophe Destombe
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Correspondence to Marie Laure Guillemin.

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Guillemin, M.L., Valenzuela, P., Gaitán-Espitia, J.D. et al. Evidence of reproductive cost in the triphasic life history of the red alga Gracilaria chilensis (Gracilariales, Rhodophyta). J Appl Phycol 26, 569–575 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-013-0072-x

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