Morphological and genetic evaluation of the hydrocoral Millepora species complex in the Caribbean

Ruiz‐Ramos, Dannise V.; Weil, Ernesto; Schizas, Nikolaos V.

doi:10.1186/1810-522x-53-4

Cited by 19 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 48 publications

(50 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…However, the rate of mtDNA evolution in hydrozoans has been suggested to be higher than in anthozoans and comparable with the Bilateria (Ruiz‐Ramos et al . ). COI sequences have been used in several hydrozoans to analyse genetic variation and to better understand hydrozoan evolution ( e.g .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Haplotype diversity and the proportion of unique haplotypes were similar to numbers found in other studies on Milleporidae (HD between 0.53 and 1.0, Ruiz‐Ramos et al . ). As mtDNA is only maternally inherited the COI diversity suggests that either the Milleporidae populations studied here are very old (accumulation of mutations) or rather large and sexual larval distribution/migration might play a more important role in colonization than fragmentation (Hellberg ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Only very few studies have investigated inter‐specific genetic variability in Milleporidae at the mitochondrial level to date (Ruiz‐Ramos et al . ; López et al . ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…) and COI primers (Ruiz‐Ramos et al . ; López et al . ) that are suitable for studying genotypic variability in Milleporidae.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Due to the rapid evolution of molecular techniques, it is now possible to also develop molecular markers for non-model organisms (Ekblom & Galindo 2011). As a result of that development, a couple of studies identified microsatellite markers (Heckenhauer et al 2014) and COI primers (Ruiz-Ramos et al 2014;L opez et al 2015) that are suitable for studying genotypic variability in Milleporidae.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Inter‐ and intra‐colonial genotypic diversity in hermatypic hydrozoans of the family Milleporidae

Schweinsberg¹,

Tollrian²,

Lampert³

2016

Marine Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Genetic diversity is the basis for adaptation and therefore of primary scientific interest, especially in species that are threatened by anthropogenic challenges, e.g. climate change and/or pollution. Coral reefs are among the most threatened but also the most diverse ecosystems and have therefore been studied quite extensively. So far, most investigations have focused on scleractinian corals while the equally important reef builders, the hydrozoans, have been less considered. Here we provide the first study of genotypic variability as well as intra‐colonial genetic variability, the co‐occurrence of more than one genotype within a single colony, in Milleporidae based on microsatellites. We analysed two geographically distinct populations from the Millepora dichotoma complex, one from the Red Sea and one from the Great Barrier Reef. Additionally, a population of Millepora platyphylla was analysed from French Polynesia. We compared microsatellite multilocus genotypes and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I haplotypes for each of the three field sites to detect levels of genotypic diversity at the intra‐ and inter‐specific levels. Furthermore, we examined all species for the occurrence of intra‐colonial genetic variability, a recently described mechanism in scleractinian corals that might enhance the adaptive potential of sessile organisms. We found both species and all field sites to be genotypically variable. Twelve mitochondrial haplotypes and 27 multilocus microsatellite genotypes were identified. In addition, intra‐colonial genetic variability was detected in the M. dichotoma complex from the Great Barrier Reef as well as in M. platyphylla from French Polynesia. All of the intra‐colonial genetically variable colonies consisted of one main genotype and a second divergent genotype caused by somatic mutations (mosaicism). Our study proves that Milleporidae are genetically variable and that the phenomenon of intra‐colonial genetic variability also occurs in this important reef‐building family.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Only very few studies have investigated inter‐specific genetic variability in Milleporidae at the mitochondrial level to date (Ruiz‐Ramos et al . ; López et al . ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…) and COI primers (Ruiz‐Ramos et al . ; López et al . ) that are suitable for studying genotypic variability in Milleporidae.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%