Scinaiaceae is a family of red algae (

Rhodophyta Red algae, or Rhodophyta (, ; ), make up one of the oldest groups of eukaryotic algae. The Rhodophyta comprises one of the largest phyla of algae, containing over 7,000 recognized species within over 900 genera amidst ongoing taxonomic revisions. ...

) in the order Nemaliales. Huisman had placed former members of

Galaxauraceae Galaxauraceae is a family of red algae (Rhodophyta) in the order Nemaliales. The type genus is ''Galaxaura''. The name ''Galaxauraceae'' was first published by Russian botanist Paulus Horaninow (1796-1865) in 1843. The family has cosmopolit ...

family, that were lacking

lime Lime most commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Bo ...

into his new family of Scinaiaceae.

Distribution

The family has

cosmopolitan distribution In biogeography, a cosmopolitan distribution is the range of a taxon that extends across most or all of the surface of the Earth, in appropriate habitats; most cosmopolitan species are known to be highly adaptable to a range of climatic and en ...

. Including being found in India,

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...

, Brazil, North America (including

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

, British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon) Chile, New Zealand (Tasmania and Campbell Island) and the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Dub ...

Notes

Molecular analyses of

DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

on species of ''Nothogenia'' has been carried out to determine species relationships. Most Scinaiaceae species produce

mucilage Mucilage is a thick gluey substance produced by nearly all plants and some microorganisms. These microorganisms include protists which use it for their locomotion, with the direction of their movement always opposite to that of the secretion of ...

(thick, gluey substance) mainly in the cortical layer. Several species in the Scinaiaceae family (including '' Nothogenia fastigiata'' and '' Scinaia hatei'') have been screened for anti-viral activity (against

herpes Herpes simplex, often known simply as herpes, is a viral infection caused by the herpes simplex virus. Herpes infections are categorized by the area of the body that is infected. The two major types of herpes are oral herpes and genital herp ...

Respiratory syncytial virus Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), also called human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV) and human orthopneumovirus, is a virus that causes infections of the respiratory tract. It is a negative-sense, single-stranded RNA virus. Its name is derive ...

(RSV),

Influenzavirus A ''Influenza A virus'' (''Alphainfluenzavirus influenzae'') or IAV is the only species of the genus ''Alphainfluenzavirus'' of the virus family '' Orthomyxoviridae''. It is a pathogen with strains that infect birds and some mammals, as well as c ...

Influenzavirus B ''Influenza B virus'' is the only species in the genus ''Betainfluenzavirus'' in the virus family ''Orthomyxoviridae''. Influenza B virus is a negative-sense single-strand RNA virus known only to infect certain mammal species, including huma ...

and

simian immunodeficiency virus Simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) is a species of retrovirus that cause persistent infections in at least 45 species of non-human primates. Based on analysis of strains found in four species of monkeys from Bioko Island, which was isolated fr ...

es). Sulfated polysaccharides (

xylomannan Xylomannan is an antifreeze molecule, found in the freeze-tolerant Alaskan beetle '' Upis ceramboides''. Unlike antifreeze proteins, xylomannan is not a protein. Instead, it is a combination of a sugar (saccharide) and a fatty acid that is found i ...

s) from the red alga, have inhibitory effects.

List of genera

According to the

AlgaeBase AlgaeBase is a global species database of information on all groups of algae, both seaweed, marine and freshwater algae, freshwater, as well as sea-grass. History AlgaeBase began in March 1996, founded by Michael D. Guiry, Michael Guiry. Text ...

(amount of species per genus); * '' Gloiophloea'' - 3 spp. * '' Nothogenia'' - 10 spp. * '' Scinaia'' - 45 spp. * '' Whidbeyella'' - 1 sp. ''Whidbeyella cartilaginea''Q. Ashton Acton Former genera; ''Ginannia'' , ''Haloderma'' , ''Myelomium'' , ''Pseudogloiophloea'' and ''Rhodosaccion'' .

References

External links

* {{taxonbar, from=Q21060893 Plants described in 2004 Nemaliales Red algae families