Porphyridium purpureum (Bory) K. M. Drew & R. Ross

Ganesan, E. K., West, John A. & Jr, Orlando Necchi, 2018, A catalogue and bibliography of non-marine (freshwater and estuarine) Rhodophyta (red algae) of India, Phytotaxa 364 (1), pp. 1-48 : 5

Porphyridium purpureum (Bory) K. M. Drew & R. Ross

Gaikwad et al. 2009, p. 103. Pl. 1, figs 1–5.

Distribution in India: Maharashtra (Pune city, on moist soils at Regional Fruit Research Centre).

Notes: The report of Porphyridium from India ( Gaikwad et al. 2009), especially from a terrestrial humid soil environment is significant, since the only earlier record of a unicellular (or a coccoid / palmelloid habit ensheathed in distinct mucilage) red alga is that of Iyengar (1985) of Chroothece richteriana Hansgrig (see below). Gaikwad et al. (2009) indicated that, although the material was collected from an inland area (> 600 m elevation) and far removed from the sea, they were able to grow it successfully in a culture medium with a normal seawater salt concentration (30 mg / l). Islam (1992) reported P. purpureum earlier from neighbouring Bangladesh. Ott (2009) provided a detailed discussion on the validity of Porphyridium (including the legitimacy of P. purpureum versus P. cruentum (Gray) Nägeli as the type species of the genus). Porphyridium , and some other unicellular genera like Dixoniella Scott, Broadwater , B.D. Saunders, Thomas & Gabrielson and Erythrolobus Scott, Baca, Ott & J.A.West were cultured in mass scale and studied for LMWCs (low molecular weight carbohydrates) like mannitol ( Eggert et al. 2007), phycobiliproteins, fatty acid composition, tocopherols, polyunsaturated fatty acids and extra cellular proteoglycan (EPG), that have applications in the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries ( Durmaz et al. 2007; Capek et al. 2008). It would be worthwhile to isolate and characterize the specimens from Pune for future use in applied studies in India. Previously, such studies in India were based on a culture of Porphyridium (culture SAG 112.79) from another region and maintained in the Pflanzenphysiolgisches Institute, Universität Göttingen, Germany (Kathiresan et al. 2006).