Abstract

As crustose Corallinales on the coasts of Chile are usualiy flat, thin, strongly adherent to the rocks and with a high concentration of polysaccharides, there is a need to improve DNA extraction for molecular studies. The paper describes a protocol to achieve this, which includes steps for disruption of cell walls and precipitation of polysaccharides and proteins; this leads to a PCR-quality product. The DNA obtained permitted amplification of SSU and rbcL genes from small amounts of material (< 1 g) of several genera and species of Corallinales. Comparison of the sequences of small SSU fragments (approximately 500 bp), combined with morphological characters, together provide sufficient resolution to distinguish organisms at the genus and species levels.