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Abstract
Kappaphycus alvarezii Doty is a species of red algae with high economic value, distributed in Asia Pacific waters, including Vietnam. In recent years, seaweed farming has rapidly developed in the Central Provinces, contributing to poverty reduction. However, parasitic epiphyte affects the yield and quality of K. alvarezii. Samples of epiphyte infected K. alvarezii were collected in Cam Ranh and Van Phong Bays, Khanh Hoa. Epiphyte was investigated and identified based on morphological characteristics. Taxonomic verification and molecular phylogeny were examined by rbcL gene of Chloroplast DNA. The study discovered a true epiphyte, identified as Melanothamnus thailandicus, a new record in Vietnam, and on K. alvarezii. The rbcL sequence of M. thailandicus exhibits a high similarity (99.98%) with this species distributed in Thailand. Phylogenetic tree showed that M. thailandicus in Khanh Hoa and Thailand were clustered in the same clade, and together with species of the genus Melanothamnus formed monophyletic lineage. Curent research identified parasitic epiphyte on K. alvarezii, examined the molecular phylogeny, contributing to update list of seeweed species in Vietnam, as well as early pathogen detection for seaweed aquaculture.
Key words: Red algae, Epiphyte, Kappaphycus alvarezii, Melanothamnus, Khanh Hoa